Indiana officials shifting to recovery efforts after deadly flooding

Aug. 16 (UPI) — Officials in Central Indiana have shifted to recovery efforts as White River water levels recede after severe storms and flooding have killed at least seven people over the past few days.

Hundreds of people over the weekend have been evacuated, according to media reports.

Over a dozen countries have been declared local disasters, and President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for the state. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said federal disaster ***istance is available.

According to the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, the river crested early Sunday and high water levels were expected to recede after a few hours.

The DPW said in social media posts that floodgates in the city were reopening Sunday afternoon. It added that emergency shelters were still open after hundreds were evacuated along the river and its cblocks.

“I must admit it is a good morning,” Christine Altman, president of the Hamilton County board of commissioners, told a briefing Sunday . “It’s not raining, and the water is receding.”

The damage was concentrated along the river from Hamilton County and into Indianapolis’ northern suburbs.

In Delaware County, the body of a 58-year-old woman was recovered on Friday by sheriff’s deputies after she may have tried to drive through floodwaters. On Saturday, the sheriff’s office confirmed they found the body of an 18-year-old who had gone missing after he went into the Mississinewa River on Wednesday with three others.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security said other deaths related to the storms included a 4-year-old boy in Jennings County, a 58-year-old woman in Lake County, an 86-year-old woman in Porter County, a 32-year-old man in LaPorte County, and a 31-year-old man in Henry County.

Some 126,000 people in the state remained without power Sunday afternoon, according to online utility tracker PowerOutage.us.