Despite more than 18 inches of rain since Friday in some East Central Indiana areas, Muncie mayor Dan Canan said his city is in pretty good shape for now.
"The ground is really saturated and the creeks and rivers are full, but I think the neighborhoods drain pretty well," Canan said. "When you look at some of the other communities in the state I think we are okay for now. We are getting that 100-year rain right now."
Bill Gosnell, director of Delaware County's Emergency Management Agency was not as optimistic, as rain again began to fall Wednesday night.
"We are beyond the point of handling rain," Gosnell said. "At this point, the sewers can no longer handle the water."
Gosnell said he could not say how much damage occurred in the last five days, but said he expects more than $100,000 of damage in the Albany area alone.
"I wouldn't even want to guess at more than that," he said. "I have a sense that there is more damage than is being reported. We can't help unless people report."
According to a news release from the governor's office, Frank O'Bannon on Tuesday declared a state of disaster emergency in flood-damaged Central and Northern Indiana. O'Bannon asked President George W. Bush to provide federal aid to help flood victims.
O'Bannon mentioned 25 counties in his declaration, which included Delaware County.
Gosnell said the financial aid can't be given unless they know who to give it to. He encouraged those who have damage to report it by calling Delaware County's Emergency Management Agency at 747-4888 or by filling out a form at www.dcema.org.
Canan said so far, the flooding has not been that severe in Delaware County.
"Our hopes are that the water level will begin to go down a little bit," he said.
According to the National Weather Service forecast center, the maximum forecasted depth for the White River this week is 11.80 feet. Tuesday night it reached its highest crest point since 1996 at 10.35 feet. The same forecast predicts the water level to be back to a safe 4 feet by Saturday evening.
The river is measured by the National Weather Service with a gauge under the Walnut Street bridge, Gosnell said.
In the meantime, Canan said Muncie residents can help to clear standing water in the city by making sure that all drains are clear.
"If there are areas of standing water, people should call the Sanitation District, and they can come out and try to clean the drains if they can't do it themselves," Canan said. The number for the Sanitation District is 747-4865.
Most branches and leaves blocking drains fell on Friday -- the only night where wind damage was a real factor. Canan said as many as 10 trees were blown down that night. Canan said one tree was downed Tuesday night.
With projected scattered strong storms for Thursday, Canan said the only thing to really alleviate the local flooding problems is time to let the water recede.
In O'Bannon's news release, it was stated that one of the hardest hit counties in the state is Adams County, north of Delaware County.
The governor sent National Guardsmen to the area where the St. Mary's River reached its highest level on record. In 1913 the river was measured at 26.5 feet. Tuesday it was measured at 26.54 feet. In that area, flood stage is considered 17 feet.
In order for the Northern and Central Indiana areas to receive federal aid, at least 200 homes must have been severely damaged, and public roads and other infrastructure must have sustained $6 million in damages.
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