(CNN) — More heavy rain is headed to flood-ravaged Indiana as new rounds of storms track across the Midwest for the fifth consecutive day, threatening to spark new floods and destruction across the tattered region.
Parts of Indiana saw a 1-in-1000 year rainfall event on Wednesday that sent floodwater rushing into homes, forced evacuations and rescues and left roads impassable. This came one day after a deadly derecho — a rare, unusually long-lasting windstorm — tore through the Midwest, and the region will not get a meaningful break from the storms until this weekend.
Here’s the latest:
- More flooding to come: More than 17 million people from Iowa to West Virginia are in flood watches for additional bouts of rain that are expected to sweep through these areas on Thursday and Friday. Saturated ground and swollen rivers will make it easier for even modest rainfall to cause new problems.
- Rivers still rising: At least three rivers have hit major flood stage in eastern Indiana. One of those is the White River in Anderson, Indiana, where a record crest over 24 feet is forecast for Thursday night — the highest in more than 100 years. A level that high would flood northern parts of Anderson, with water several feet deep in residential and commercial areas, according to the National Weather Service.
- Flash flood emergencies: Parts of seven counties in eastern Indiana were under the highest level of flood warning Wednesday. Parts of the region have seen multiple months’ worth — 6 to nearly 12 inches — of rain so far this week.
- Widespread outages persist: More than 240,000 homes and businesses are without power in Indiana as of Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. Just over 400,000 customers remain in the dark across the Midwest and Ohio Valley for the second consecutive day. A utility serving northern Indiana experienced its most widespread outage ever due to storms earlier this week, and still does not have an estimate for when power will be restored.
‘Catastrophic’ flooding grips Indiana
In hard-hit western Wayne County, Indiana, crews have rescued people from rooftops, the tops of vehicles and places surrounded by floodwater, according to the county emergency management agency.
More than 30 people were rescued or evacuated by Wednesday afternoon, with 12 more water rescues reported overnight Thursday, the agency said. Most of these were by boat in Cambridge City, a town about an hour east of Indianapolis, Wayne County Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Todd Harmeson told CNN Thursday.
Cambridge City reported “catastrophic” flooding by late Wednesday morning. 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. Most roads there were impassable, Harmeson said.
The town also warned residents in a social media post to be prepared to potentially lose utilities for “a number of days” and is currently under a boil-water advisory. The county has shut off electricity and gas service in some flooded areas as a safety measure.
Flooding also damaged the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Wayne County. The Indiana Department of Transportation estimates the interstate will reopen by Friday.
In nearby New Castle, Indiana, floodwater was waist deep in parts of the city, mayor’s assistant Kendra Blankenship told CNN Wednesday, noting city buses were being used to transport people evacuating the floods to a temporary shelter.
Crews evacuated over 120 people from an apartment complex using boats and humvees on Wednesday, according to the city fire department.
New Castle received more than 11 inches of rain in 32 hours – a 1-in-1000-year rainfall rate. This only has a 0.1% chance of happening in given year, under normal circumstances. But extreme rainfall is becoming more common as the atmosphere warms.
Homes were also flooded farther north in Muncie, where officials were working to evacuate an area with about 200 homes, city spokesperson Amber Greene told CNN Wednesday morning. About a dozen people had to be rescued by boat, and responders were returning to pick up more, Greene added.
Roadways were flooded throughout Muncie, Greene said, 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, Muncie Fire Chief Daniel Burford told CNN.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency Thursday to mobilize additional resources to support local efforts.
Deadly storms hit Midwest on Tuesday
Wednesday’s storms come a day after a deadly line of severe weather swept through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
A 4-year-old boy died in southeastern Indiana on Tuesday after a tree fell on a house in Geneva Township, according to Cody Low, chief deputy for the Jennings County sheriff’s department.
One person was found dead Tuesday in Portage, Indiana, from an apparent explosion and house fire after the derecho moved through the area. The cause remains under investigation, but police suspect trees knocked down by the storm may have damaged natural gas lines.
A utility that serves northern Indiana experienced its largest outage event in company history on Tuesday, according to a social media post.
Punishing week of storms continues
Iowa and Illinois, flood-ravaged Indiana and parts of the Appalachians are at risk for more flooding rain on Thursday on Friday.
A complex of storms ongoing in Iowa on Thursday morning is expected to rumble east toward northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin by this 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.
A Level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall has been issued in parts of Indiana, southwest Ohio and north-central Kentucky through early Friday. Another 1 to 3 inches of rain is likely across this already water-logged area, but much higher totals up to 6 inches in spots are possible if storms stall out over the same areas for too long.
Storms could also stall out elsewhere in the Midwest and cause significant flooding late Thursday into Friday; Iowa and northern Illinois have the greatest potential for that.
The heavy rain threat could finally ease by Friday afternoon in the hard-hit Ohio Valley, but the Upper Mississippi Valley and parts of the Great Lakes could see more downpours through Saturday.
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