Heavy rain is headed to flood-ravaged Indiana as new rounds of storms track across the Midwest, threatening to spark new floods and destruction across the tattered region. Cambridge City, about an hour east of Indianapolis, reported catastrophic flooding late Wednesday morning, warning residents to be prepared to potentially lose utilities for a number of days due to the storms.
Flooding in Indiana
Video obtained by CNN shows floodwater covering large sections of the town, with water levels well past many houses’ windows and cars almost entirely submerged. Officials have urged residents in certain parts of Cambridge City to evacuate, and first responders used boats to conduct rescues, as most of the roads in town were impassable.
Floodwater was waist deep in parts of nearby New Castle, and city buses were being used to transport people evacuating the floods to a temporary shelter. New Castle received more than 11 inches of rain in 32 hours – a 1-in-1000-year rainfall rate.
Homes were also flooded farther north in Muncie, where officials were working to evacuate an area with about 200 homes. About a dozen people had to be rescued by boat, and responders were returning to pick up more.
Roadways were flooded throughout Muncie, and what was supposed to be the first day of school for the city school system has been postponed due to flooding. By Wednesday night, some water rescues were still ongoing, but the flooding had stabilized in the city.
Storms Across the Midwest
Iowa and Illinois, flood-ravaged Indiana, and parts of the Appalachians are at risk for more flooding rain on Thursday and Friday. A complex of storms ongoing in Iowa on Thursday morning is expected to rumble east toward northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin by the afternoon.
These storms may eventually run out of steam, but new ones in their wake will likely form by late Thursday in Iowa and Illinois. Those storms could build eastward across parts of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia through the overnight hours into Friday morning.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
