EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A section of Interstate 64 reopened and neighbors helped clean up a flooded food pantry Friday after storms that dumped more than 5 inches of rainfall on parts on southwestern Indiana.
More than 5 inches of rain fell in Evansville during a 30-hour period Wednesday night into Friday morning, the National Weather Service said. The downpour triggered widespread flash flooding during the Friday morning rush hour.
High waters on I-64 forced police to close a section of the highway near the Dubois County town of Ferdinand, about 40 miles northeast of Evansville, for several hours. The floodwaters swept two cars off the highway, but Indiana State Police Sgt. Philip Hensley said no one was injured.
Scattered road flooding was reported across southern and central Indiana, but the waters were receding in most places by Friday afternoon.
Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth said residents had to evacuate from a campground on Indiana 62 between Evansville and Mount Vernon, about 20 miles to the west. A sheriff’s office employee who was affected by the flooding told Oeth the water inside his mobile home was about 4 feet deep.
“We’re helping him make arrangements for relocation,” Oeth said.
In the Indianapolis suburb of Westfield, volunteers and city employees pitched in to clean up the Open Doors Food Pantry, which was filled with waist-deep water Thursday after an embankment gave way, sending a gush of water toward the building.
The waters overturned freezers and floated most of the pantry’s content, leaving a muddy floor behind. But Boy Scouts, neighbors and others worked to clean up the mess after the pantry sent an email blast requesting help.
“We had this cleaned up in probably three or four hours,” Open Doors President Kurt Wanninger said.
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