Gov. Mike Braun said President Donald Trump will approve a Presidential Emergency Declaration for the state, following a call between the two Saturday afternoon. Storms left thousands in the northwest without power, and flooding in the state’s eastern and central parts led to evacuations.
Officials say the federal money will support emergency response. Trump promised to unlock up to five-million-dollars.
“I spoke with President Trump today about the devastation we’re seeing across Indiana, and I’m grateful to the President for quickly addressing my request and providing additional resources to help Hoosiers,” Braun said in a statement. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of the five Hoosiers we have lost and every family whose life has been changed by these storms. Please continue to take flooding seriously and stay away from floodwaters.”
Braun said the Indiana National Guard, state agencies and emergency response teams are working alongside local officials and first responders across the state.
"Our response is fully mobilized, and we will continue putting every available resource behind keeping Hoosiers safe and helping our communities recover," he said.
The federal declaration will help cover the cost of water rescuers, sandbagging, evacuations, shelters, emergency supplies and more.
More than 350 evacuations occurred in Delaware County. Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency Thursday. Local disaster declarations have since been enacted in 15 counties, including Marion County, and in the municipalities, including Carmel and Noblesville in Hamilton County.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and city department leaders reported updates early in the day Saturday and urged residents who live by the White River to evacuate their homes.
“Let me be absolutely clear, the residents in Ravenswood, Rocky Ripple, and other areas impacted by flooding — please leave your homes now. This is not a time to wait,” Hogsett said.
Marion County Emergency Management Director Jacob Spence emplored people in adjacent neighborhoods to make evacuation plans.
“If you normally see floodwater, you definitely need to leave, and if you’re in an area that’s near but normally does not see it … Make preparations, make a plan,” Spence said.
In Carmel, fire officials said they evacuated about 40 people as of noon Saturday. More than 20 horses were also evacuated from an equestrian center along River Rd.
Resident Delaney Cawley lives in her grandfather's home in the neighborhood just west of the White River that was evacuated.
"I've never seen anything like this happen before," she said.
Cawley spoke with WFYI earlier in the day and said her grandfather, uncle and brother were still in the house while water was slowly coming inside. She was in contact with them by phone.
"I think they're trying to stay until the last second possible unfortunately, but I think they need to get out as soon as possible," she said.
Carmel Fire Public Information Officer Tim Griffin did not call it a mandatory evacuation. He said Fishers and Noblesville emergency response teams have helped with evacuations. Carmel officials were not sure if the river had crested yet, as more rain hit the area early Saturday morning and afternoon.
Indiana Department of Homeland Security Jonathan Whitham said the state emergency operations center will continue to work around the clock monitoring conditions.
“After that, we start the recovery process. That’s going to look different in Northwest Indiana than it is in East Central and South Eastern Indiana, because floods are very different than wind events,” Whitham said.
In Northwest Indiana, more than 300,000 power outages were initially reported for NIPSCO customers. That number is down to about 157,000 households as of Saturday afternoon.
Whitham said something the state is doing for the first time, to speed up repairs, is having the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources, the National Guard and the Department of Correction work ahead clearing roads for electric repair crews.
“We’re partnering state agencies with utilities with NIPSCO. They’re going out ahead of the utility to clear the way,” Whitham said.
Climate researchers at Indiana University project Indiana will see more extreme rain events.
“It’s like living in Florida,” Braun said. “You know, there they’re dealing with hurricanes quite frequently. Insurance is handled differently there, and you’ve got to be prepared for it.”
Braun said the state will adjust funds accordingly if extreme weather becomes a common occurrence.
WFYI’s Eric Weddle, Jill Sheridan and Zak Cassel contributed to this story.
