Published: May 17, 2009 12:30 am      

Storm results in flash floods

Possible tornado reported in Carroll County.

Area emergency management officials spent Saturday assessing the extent of the damage from a severe storm that reportedly brought tornados to Carroll County.

Dave McDowell, Carroll County Emergency Management Agency director, said that, while the county was declared an emergency area because of flooding, he was surprised when daylight revealed damage consistent with what is typically caused by a tornado.

“We knew that we would probably be dealing with flash flooding, but had only heard rumors of a tornado,” he said. “Someone reported seeing a tornado near Dayton [in Tippecanoe County] so we thought that it had missed us. So to see the damage this morning was a surprise.”

McDowell added that because it was dark, it was impossible to send out spotters who may have been able to issue a warning about a twister. He said that most of the destruction was found south of Burlington with several homes damaged and roads and bridges on 200N and 500W destroyed.

Despite the extensive damage, McDowell said he has heard of only one reported injury.

“One man had a cut to the hand because he was in a barn that had the roof torn off,” McDowell said. “It is probably a miracle that he wasn’t anymore hurt.”

Heavy rainfallalso caused extensive problems with three to four inches falling in just about 21/2 hours after 9 p.m. Friday.

In Cass County, areas in the east end and south side of Logansport were under water, causing problems for motorists and homeowners.

Cass County EMA director Alvin Beckman said the heavy rain caused almost immediate problems.

“The problem was that we had a lot of rain in a short period of time,” Beckman said. “We also had some extensive rain on Thursday so the ground was partially saturated from that. That it was heavy rainfall caused the problems. If it was over a 24-hour period, we wouldn’t have had these issues.”

Beckman noted that several cars stalled and became stuck in standing water in the vicinity of 22nd, 24th, Market and North streets. While many were able to drive out of the flooded area, some of the vehicles had to be towed out, he said.

Elsewhere, Beckman said 18 to 20 homes off South Cicott near Fairview Park were damaged by water after Goose Creek burst its banks. The water was up to two feet deep in places and got into the basements and crawl spaces of homes, he said.

Standing water also caused issues on area roadways.

Roads around Delphi and Flora were most heavily affected in Carroll County, while the Cass County Highway Department was busy setting up high water signs. It closed several roads in the county.

Beckman said that emergency crews also responded to an accident on Ind. 25 near the Cass-Carroll line where a vehicle went off the road after driving through standing water.

McDowell said localized flooding in Carroll County was more dramatic than he expected. He said water runoff from fields, and not the Tippecanoe River, caused the problems.

He is hopeful the county will receive emergency aid funds from the state and federal government to help with the repairs.

“When a severe event happens, we don’t have the money to pay for the repairs,” McDowell said. “We’ll take whatever we can get. With county roads destroyed and bridges destroyed, we probably need some help.”

Beckman advised residents to use extra caution when driving in the county because standing water remains on some county roads.

• Kevin Smith is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or kevin.smith@pharostribune.com