Floodwaters force 200 out in Carroll County

By CARLA KNAPP
NHI News Service

January 09, 2008 12:56 am

— YEOMAN — Four-year-old Emily Ledford enjoys boat rides. Her family lives just south of Lake Freeman and her parents, Matt and Crystal, often take her out for a leisurely cruise along the water.
But the boat ride the family took Tuesday morning was nothing like that.
The Ledford family was among the nearly 200 people evacuated from their homes in Carroll County due to severe flooding along the Tippecanoe River, particularly in the area of the Oakdale Dam as well as the Horseshoe and Tecumseh bends.
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Emergency workers and residents in the area called Tuesday’s flood event the worst they’ve seen in recent history, by far surpassing the July 4th flooding from 2003.
Water in the area began rising around 4 a.m. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department began evacuating residents from their homes around 6 a.m. when NIPSCO reported the dam was flowing at more than 20,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) — more than 13 times the normal amount.
With no visible escape from the water surrounding her home, Crystal Ledford called the sheriff’s department about 7 a.m. to ask for a water rescue. Her family, including her grandmother Wilma Scott, was evacuated by boat a few hours later.
“Coming out in the boat was a little nerve wracking,” said Crystal. She said that having a small child added to her concerns, but young Emily was never scared.
“She thought it was fun. She put her life jacket on just like she does when we go for a boat ride and that’s what it was to her. But this time she was pointing out the houses with the water all the way up to their windows and saying ‘Look, you can see in the houses.’”
Though the Ledfords’ home was surrounded by water, Crystal said it was high enough she doesn’t expect much water to seep in. Many other residents were not as lucky.
By about noon, Sheriff Sgt. Dennis Randle said county and state water rescue teams had evacuated more than 30 people by boat, including an elderly woman who was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia.
Willard McKnight and Gloria Clark were evacuated by boat near 2 p.m. when water was already knee high in the first floor of their home. They stayed dry on the second floor until rescuers came and convinced them to leave.
“I didn’t want to leave,” said Clark, fighting back tears. “We didn’t know how bad it was until they came and got us out. ... At least we’re safe now.”
McKnight said rescuers came by three times before they actually left their home. Clark said they finally decided to leave because they were worried about a dam breech.
Just outside of Delphi, waters below the Oakdale dam rose above the tops of cars on both sides of the Tippecanoe River.
“We rescued a couple of people off the roofs of their houses,” said Matt Tholen, a DNR conservation officer. “This was the most water I’ve seen ever.”
By late afternoon, water was pouring out of the dam at more than 28,000 cfs, according to Carroll County Emergency Management Agency director Dave McDowell. On a normal day, the hydroelectric facility operated by NIPSCO lets out only about 1,500 cfs, and during a typical spring flood, that number can increase to about 9,000.
Though McDowell said melting snow combined with recent rainfall has drastically increased the amount of water coming through the dam, he said there should be no reason for a breech.
“The water is pretty stable at this point, but NIPSCO is trying to let as much water out of the dam in anticipation of more rain,” explained McDowell, who said that even his home sustained water damage. “NIPSCO hasn’t indicated there have been any problems and the model they have can handle way beyond this.”
McDowell cited studies by NIPSCO about the dam’s capacity. According to the Norway and Oakdale Hydroelectric Project Terrestrial Resources Report, prepared by NIPSCO in May 2003, the maximum amount it can handle is about 294,000 cfs.
Though McDowell was not concerned about the dam itself, he said the water flowing out of it could continue causing problems for people south of the dam for days.
By late Tuesday night, county and state officials had evacuated everyone in the area who was in any danger and would leave. Area residents who were evacuated were taken to a temporary shelter set up by the American Red Cross at First Presbyterian Church in Delphi. Though roughly 20 people were in and out of the shelter throughout the day, only two people planned to spend the night.
The effort throughout the day to get to that point was intense.
Randle helped to coordinate the efforts of the sheriff department, Indiana State Police, Carroll County EMA and Ambulance Service, Brookston Fire and Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Emergency crews used Delphi school buses to take evacuees out of the area and Pearson’s Marina also lent a boat to the rescue effort.
Randle praised the actions of emergency crews in evacuating people with few incidents. But they were not the only ones helping to get people out as area residents pitched in to help neighbors trapped by rising waters.
Sherry Wagner, who owns multiple properties south of the dam that sustained flood damage, put her own worries aside and brought hot coffee to rescue workers. She even offered dry clothes to a couple who was evacuated. Wagner, like most people in the area, does not have flood insurance for her properties.
After Kaleb Pass was forced to leave his home, he decided to help others get out. He carried a neighbor, her daughter and three dogs to safety across rising waters.
“Their (situation) wasn’t life threatening, but it probably would have been in the next half hour,” he said. “I just wanted to see if I could help.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Carla Knapp can be contacted at (574) 732-5150 or via e-mail at carla.knapp@pharostribune.com

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