MUNCIE, IN — Going forward, significant rainfall in the Muncie area and East Central Indiana might be measured against the rain that fell between the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 11, and the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 12.
The torrential rains — at times accompanied by wind gusts, thunder and lightning — prompted severe flooding in some areas of Muncie and most other local communities.
Portions of city streets, county roads and state highways were in some cases made impassable by the water, prompting most local government officials to urge their constituents to stay at home. Portions of some roads literally washed away, leaving gaping holes in the pavement.
Some homes were damaged by the rising water. In Muncie, city firefighters used boats to evacuate some citizens from their houses, most of them on the south side, according to Cory Kissick, director of the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency,
A release issued on Wednesday afternoon, when the rainfall stopped, said 16 persons had been displaced from their homes in Muncie.
Members of Kissick's emergency management team kept track of those being rescued. An overnight shelter for the displaced was set up at Grace Baptist Church, 6401 W. River Road.
Kissick said displaced residents — and their pets — were being taken to the westside church, some on MITS buses.
At various locations, emergency responders were called on to rescue motorists who drove vehicles of various types — which then became disabled — into deep stretches of water flowing across roads and streets.
A team of Delaware County sheriff's deputies used the department's armored MRAP — "a specialized vehicle normally utilized during tactical and other specialized unit operations," according to Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley — for use in several water rescue calls on Wednesday.
Several local school systems were closed due to Wednesday's weather, and others closed early as the rain continued to fall. Some systems will also be closed on Thursday, including Muncie Community Schools, Blue River Schools, Burris Laboratory School, Delaware Community Schools, Daleville Community Schools, Monroe Central Schools, New Castle Community Schools, Randolph Central Schools, Randolph Southern Schools, Richmond Community Schools, South Henry Schools, Wes-Del Community Schools, Western Wayne Schools and Yorktown Community Schools.
Estimates of how much rain fell varied. Some suggested the storms had produced as much as a foot of rain over the two-day event. In Henry County, at least a few weather watchers insisted more than 15 inches fell in the New Castle area.
In a video statement released on Wednesday, Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour called the flooding a "100-year event that we're working our way through."
At the time he spoke, the mayor said, Muncie had received eight inches of rain in the past eight hours. He compared this week's storms to a flood that devastated portions of the city in 1913.
Kissick said several local emergency response agencies had returned to their normal schedules by late Wednesday afternoon.
Any precipitation on Friday will be monitored to determine its impact on local flooding, officials said.
In New Castle, firefighters from New Castle and numerous assisting agencies on Wednesday helped evacuate more than 120 residents from the Fosters Landing Apartments complex, in the 300 block of Foster's Way.
Henry County residents were urged to only travel in the event of emergencies due to flooding.
In Winchester, sand bags were distributed to those in need at the city street department.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Randolph County commissioners reported 27 "roadways (had been) closed by water," and that three additional roads were "washed out and impassable." A travel watch was set to remain in effect until noon on Thursday.
In Wayne County, where citizens and authorities also dealt with significant flooding, a Level 3 travel advisory was issued, asking travel to be limited to emergencies until noon Thursday.
The Richmond city building will also be closed until noon Thursday.
On Wednesday, westbound lanes of Interstate 70 at the Centerville exit were closed due to pavement being washed away by the heavy rains.
Also in Wayne County, a portion of Indiana 38, west of U.S. 35, was reported to be washed away by flooding. The Indiana Department of Transportation said Indiana 38 would be closed "until further notice."
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Heavy rain and flooding put Muncie, East Central Indiana under water