At least six dead as record flooding and storms hit Indiana
Days of severe storms and record flooding across Indiana have killed at least six people, including a four-year-old boy. Floodwaters in Indianapolis peaked on Sunday as rain began to ease.
At least six people have died in Indiana since severe storms and flooding began battering the state on 11 August, according to state homeland security spokesperson Liz Woods. The victims include two men, three women and a four-year-old boy.
In Jennings county, in the state's south, the young boy was killed on Tuesday when a tree fell into his bedroom during high winds. Deputy chief Cody Low described the loss as unexpected and said the community would work through it together.
Among the other victims was 19-year-old Matthew Morey of Delaware county, whose body was found on Saturday after he jumped into the fast-moving Mississinewa River with friends three days earlier. The recent high school graduate had been preparing to attend Purdue University. Also recovered on Saturday, in a cornfield near her car, were the bodies of 58-year-old Stephanie Sallee and her dog; officials believe her vehicle was swept off a flooded road.
In Indianapolis, the White River's floodwaters peaked early Sunday, with the city's public works department expecting levels to hold briefly before receding. Floodgates were due to reopen Sunday, and emergency shelters remained open after hundreds of homes along the river and canals were evacuated. Rescue teams used boats to reach residents trapped by rising water.
Hamilton county, north of the capital, reported no deaths, though a major bridge was damaged and officials were assessing whether it could be repaired. The National Weather Service warned that flash flooding remained possible across central Indiana.
By Sunday afternoon, nearly 130,000 utility customers statewide were still without power, down from a peak of roughly 300,000. The White River crested above 24 feet in Anderson and Noblesville, breaking records set in 1913, and Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett called it the city's worst flooding in more than 30 years.
Governor Mike Braun's office reported more than 350 evacuations and numerous rescues statewide. President Donald Trump approved Braun's request for federal disaster assistance on Saturday. The storms were part of a broader system that also caused damage from Illinois to western Pennsylvania.
