Indiana’s History of Major Floods
- Indiana has endured severe flooding for over a century, with the 1913 'Great Flood' as a landmark event.
- Flooding often occurs when heavy rain overwhelms Indiana's geography of major rivers and wetlands.
- This week's 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event caused record-breaking flooding, displacing thousands across the state.
Indiana’s History of Major Floods
As historic flooding grips eastern and central Indiana this week, it’s worth looking back at how the state’s worst flood events compare. Indiana has weathered devastating flooding for more than a century, and this week’s disaster is already being mentioned in the same breath as some of the historic benchmarks below.
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March 1913 — The Great Flood
Considered the “landmark” flood for most of Indiana’s major rivers, the Great Flood of 1913 struck after 3 to 8 inches of rain fell across the state in a matter of days on already saturated ground. In Indianapolis, floodwaters reached 19.5 feet above flood stage, destroying the Washington Street bridge and forcing thousands to flee when a levee failed near Kentucky Avenue. As many as 7,000 Indianapolis families lost their homes, and statewide damages were estimated at $25 million in 1913 dollars. It remains Indiana’s flood of record in many communities more than a century later.
January 1937 — Ohio River Flood
The biggest flood ever to strike the Ohio River inundated cities and towns across southern Indiana, both along the river itself and its tributaries, as part of a broader Midwest disaster that left 100,000 people homeless in Cincinnati alone.
January 1991
Melting snow combined with heavy rain triggered severe flooding across southern Indiana.
This Weeks Flooding
This week’s flooding is already being called historic. A 1-in-1,000 year rainfall event dropped as much as 11 inches of rain on parts of eastern Indiana, sending the White River in Anderson to a record crest near 25 feet — the highest in more than a century. Thousands have been displaced, with water rescues ongoing across Indianapolis, Cambridge City, New Castle and surrounding communities.
Indiana’s geography is crossed by major rivers and historically covered by extensive wetlands which makes it especially vulnerable to flooding when heavy rain overwhelms saturated ground.
As officials note, in Indiana it’s less a question of “if” than “when.”
