Heavy rain closed roads, leading to at least five water rescues, and lightning strikes damaged homes and caused the county’s 911 system to go down for hours.
More than 4 inches of rain fell in Johnson County during about a 24-hour period, landing on already saturated ground.
School buses were unable to get to certain homes due to flooded roads. Interstate 65 flooded, leading the entire interstate to be closed during the morning rush hour and parts of it to remain closed the rest of the day. And key routes through the county that typically don’t flood, including sections of Smith Valley Road and County Line Road, were covered in water.
By Tuesday afternoon, the county emergency management office had not gotten any reports of damage to homes and businesses, but that was a significant concern, especially as rain continued to fall, Johnson County Emergency Management Director Stephanie Sichting said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“There is no place for this water to go,” she said.
Another concern was damage from straight line winds, hail and more rain and the possibility for tornadoes by this morning, Sichting said.
One of the key issues emergency workers were dealing with was flooded roads and water rescues. More than 15 roads or intersections were closed due to flooding, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
At some roads, signs washed away and police parked cars to warn drivers the roads were closed. Other roads that typically don’t flood were impassible, catching drivers and emergency workers off guard. And in other cases, drivers took a chance and went into high water, then needed to be rescued, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Col. Randy Werden said.
Emergency workers repeatedly reminded drivers not to drive onto flooded roads, and instead turn around. In many areas water is rushing, and that can be even harder to see when it’s dark, Sichting said.
“People just need to turn around, don’t get stuck in it,” she said.
Two motorists were rescued from County Road 200N and County Road 75W, where water had covered the road. Firefighters had to bring in a boat to rescue one driver who drove around a stalled vehicle into the high water and then was left stranded themselves, said Eric Funkhouser, Bargersville Fire Department division chief of training and safety.
At 9:15 a.m., a driver went through a flooded area on the west side of the the bridge on County Road 200N, and his truck stalled, leaving him stranded, Bargersville Fire Chief Jason Ramey said.
Firefighters used the department’s aerial truck, which has a 100-foot ladder, to rescue the man. They were able to park the truck on dry ground and extend the ladder and a life jacket out to the man, Ramey said.
Around noon, a second driver became stuck in the water on the east side of the bridge, where the water has ranged from 4 to 8 feet deep, Ramey said.
The Franklin Fire Department used boats to rescue the driver, who they pulled out of the window of his truck, Ramey said.
At the busy intersection of County Line Road and Madison Avenue in Greenwood, the drivers of a car and minivan were both trapped after trying to drive through water that was about knee high. No one was injured, and both drivers were helped out of their vehicles by firefighters, Greenwood Fire Department spokesman Chad Tatman said.
Another driver was rescued from a vehicle on Smith Valley Road, just east of State Road 37, where a section of the road was covered with at least a couple feet of water, White River Township Fire Chief Jeremy Pell said. Firefighters were able to walk to the vehicle and get the driver to safety, he said.
Two vehicles became stranded Tuesday afternoon on a dry patch of road surrounded by flooding near Mauxferry Road and County Road 300S.
On Tuesday morning, a school bus got stuck in high water in Clark Township, but children were able to get off the bus before emergency workers arrived, Werden said.
Parents of Clark-Pleasant students were notified Tuesday afternoon that they may be called to pick up their children from school if buses would not be able to get to certain areas. Superintendent Patrick Spray told parents the flooding across the county would not affect bus service for the majority of students, but those who are affected may not be able to be picked up by a bus this morning as well.
If bus drivers found that roads were not safe, they would end the routes and parents would be contacted to pick up their children.
Lightning strikes were also a concern. The county’s 911 system was down for a couple hours Tuesday morning after a lightning strike, and Bartholomew County had to take local 911 calls until that was repaired, county officials said.
A home in the Cobblestone neighborhood was severely damaged in a fire that was suspected to be caused by lightning or a power surge.
Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters were called to a home in the 1000 block of Collinbrook Circle, north of Stones Crossing Road and east of State Road 135. Firefighters spent about 45 minutes putting out the fire, which caused significant damage to the home, Pell said.
A resident was home when the fire started, but was able to get out safely, according to the fire department.
Lightning strikes damaged two other homes in Bargersville, but neither resulted in a fire, Ramey said.
In both situations, no one was harmed, but there may be damage to electrical wiring and appliances, he said.
In Franklin, some streets were underwater early Tuesday morning, and the city immediately began contacting businesses that are prone to flooding so that they could move equipment or pick up sand bags.
The waters receded mid-day, but the city still activated its emergency flood plan because of the repeated instances of flooding since 2008, caused not only by heavy rainfall but also due to floodwaters from other communities draining south to Franklin.
By mid-day Tuesday, 2.5 inches of water had fallen in Franklin, but that was after recent snowfall that left the ground saturated.
And as expected, by afternoon, floodwaters from other communities and more rain were causing the creek levels to rise. For example, the street department closed Forsythe Street, south of Hamilton Avenue, due to floodwaters from Hurricane Creek. South Main Street near U.S. 31 on the south side of the city was also underwater.
The city has taken several steps in recent years, and more are planned, to minimize the flooding.
When the emergency flood plan is activated, city employees have different areas of the city they are responsible for monitoring to measure how high the water is getting, sandbags are offered to residents and businesses at the street department and crews make sure that storm grates are constantly cleared so the water can drain.
