Six people are dead and many more are missing as torrential rain spawned destructive high water across Indiana in what authorities are calling “once-in-a=lifetime floods.”
The post WATCH: ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Heavy Rains Flood Central Indiana, Six Dead, Many More Missing, Trump Declares Disaster appeared first on Breitbart.
Six people are dead and many more are missing as torrential rain spawned destructive high water across Indiana in what authorities are calling “once-in-a-lifetime floods.”
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Entire towns were inundated with murky water as rising rivers exceeded their banks, with some residents taking to kayaks and small boats to save fellow residents or to escape, according to news outlets.
The White River, a 362-mile waterway in central and southern Indiana, which also runs directly through Indianapolis, just kept rising Saturday in the wake of heavy rains.
A number of rivers reached record levels, the Daily Mail reported, as more than a dozen counties declared local disasters. Much of the latest damage was along the river from Hamilton County heading into northern Indianapolis suburbs.
“The most severe flooding has occurred along the White River corridor, particularly in and around Indianapolis, Noblesville, Anderson, Ravenswood and Nora,” Newsweek reported.
President Donald Trump acted quickly on news of the deluge, approving an emergency declaration for the state, making federal disaster assistance available to residents and municipalities.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett (D) said the city was experiencing its most severe flooding in more than 30 years.
Residents from hundreds of homes in neighborhoods between the river and parallel canals were evacuated on Saturday as 911 dispatchers received scores of calls for help.
The Indianapolis Fire Department reported rescues of 95 people and 45 pets as of late afternoon Saturday.
Six people died in floods over the past week, including a four-year-old boy who perished when a tree fell on his home, according to several news outlets.
Some adults did not fare well either in the emergency.
“A 58-year-old woman was swept away after driving into floodwaters, and a 19-year-old man was found dead after jumping into a river on Wednesday,” the Mail reported.
Marion County Director of Emergency Management Jacob Spencer called the event a “once-in-a-lifetime flooding.”
“This is an unprecedented event, and unfortunately we’re setting some new records,” he told the Associated Press.
The National Weather Service reported that more than 11 inches of rain fell over a two-day period in some areas.
The White River crested at more than 24 feet in the municipalities of Anderson and Noblesville. That surpassed records set in 1913.
While some floodwaters were receding north of Indianapolis, flash-flood watches and warnings continued late into Saturday across a swath of central Indiana.
Breitbart News contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
