Noblesville's Flood Bill Just Hit $13 Million

Noblesville’s Flood Bill Just Hit $13 Million

And Mayor Chris Jensen Says That's Only the Start

Noblesville flood bill hits $13 million, with costs expected to rise as damage is assessed
Hundreds of residents evacuated, 25-30 homes severely damaged or destroyed
Federal disaster declaration secured, but rebuilding homes and supporting small businesses will take months, even a year

Flooded street with submerged road signs and utility poles surrounded by trees. — Source: Fox 59 / FOX 59

Noblesville’s Flood Bill Just Hit $13 Million

Noblesville is staring down a disaster that’s already run up a $13 million tab, and Mayor Chris Jensen isn’t pretending that number is final. “That number is going to go up rapidly as we go and assess home by home,” Jensen told Tony Katz on 93 WIBC — a warning shot for a city that just watched its worst flood in 113 years tear through the Southwest Quad.

Katz was broadcasting live from Kroger in Noblesville, raising money for the American Red Cross with the Urban1 Indianapolis group, and Fox 59 – CBS 4 Indy, when Jensen laid out the scope of the damage. Two weeks ago, floodwater sat where the two men were sitting in the parking log on Logan Street. Now it’s gone — but the wreckage it left behind isn’t.

Twenty-five to thirty homes in Noblesville are still massively damaged or total losses. About 170 residents were voluntarily evacuated when the water surged. And while the White House approved a major disaster declaration overnight — a real breakthrough, Jensen admitted — the mayor was blunt that paperwork doesn’t rebuild houses. “The work is not done,” he said. “It will go on for months, if not even a year.”

That federal declaration now covers 21 Indiana counties, but Jensen made clear every community’s crisis looks different. Carmel is fighting a $100 million infrastructure collapse on Hazel Dell Parkway. Connersville lost a Duke Energy substation underwater. Northern Indiana is dealing with wind damage and NIPSCO power failures that Katz pressed Jensen on directly.

Jensen didn’t let NIPSCO off easy, either. Echoing Governor comments, he called the utility “a major corporation, a monopoly, that needs to step up and put boots on the ground faster.” Translation: paying customers expect service, disaster or not.

For Noblesville specifically, the fight now is about people, not just dollars. Homes in the floodplain must rebuild to current flood standards — a costlier proposition than before. Small businesses, which Jensen called “the backbone of our city,” are hoping the federal declaration unlocks SBA relief. First responders who worked “over and above” their normal resources will need support too.

Jensen pointed to ServeVillage.org for volunteers still needed on the ground, and the Hamilton County Community Foundation fund for anyone wanting to donate directly. WIBC’s Red Cross drive continues through Help in the Heartland at wibc.com.

The water’s gone. The bill is just getting started.

Hear Tony Katz break it down live weekdays on 93.1 WIBC, or catch the full segment on-demand.

Listen to the “Noblesville’s Flood Bill Just Hit $13 Million” discussion in full here:

Listen to the Show in Full here:

Watch the show here: