Sunday, January 17, 2010

'100 year flood'




On June 7, 2008, 15 inches of rain fell in less than 12 hours causing one of the worst floods Terre Haute has seen. It had been over 100 years since the last flood in the area. Many homes and businesses were ruined; and roads were torn apart with large chunks missing. Many people were stuck sitting on their roofs while they were waiting for help because their house had been taken over by the water. Many houses in Terre Haute had around a foot of water inside them, which made them unsafe, causing many people to abandon their houses. The river looked like an ocean with the amount of flooding. Levees were breaking and this was causing even more flooding.

Many businesses were a tremendous help; these include the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the United Way. These places helped with food, clothing, housing, and even appliances to get their homes started again. There were 17 counties in Indiana that were declared a natural disaster area. The flood killed 200 people statewide and displaced over 200,000 people.


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