Indiana National Guard troops and state prison inmates stack sandbags Monday as the town of New Harmony braced for the Wabash River to tie a 68-year-old record and crest at an expected 24 feet Tuesday.
"That's a record we'd prefer not to break," said Larry Robb, the Posey County emergency management director.
Residents at one nursing home were being moved to others as a precaution, and some people evacuated their homes, he said, although he didn't know how many.
Sandbagging also continued in other areas of southwestern Indiana as authorities tried to hold back rising water amid persistent rain. Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency director Sherman Greer said heavy overnight rain led to flooding in new areas on the west side of Evansville.
"We have some homes that the water is getting close to, we have some that have water in their basements and their crawl spaces and we're doing everything we can to help them from getting any more water inside their homes," he said.
A mobile home park was voluntarily evacuated for a few hours Monday, but residents were allowed back in when the water receded, he said.
Authorities were trying to determine whether more than 3 inches of rain overnight was to blame the for the collapse of Jasper High School's roof about 5:25 a.m. Monday. No injuries were reported, but the district closed all of its schools for the day. Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang told The Herald of Jasper that at least three of the high school's four walls were structurally damaged and other areas of the school sustained water and other damage.
Flood warnings continued Monday for the Ohio, Wabash, Patoka, East Fork White, Muscatatuck and Tippecanoe rivers. In Gibson County, the Patoka River set a record when it hit 24.8 feet and is expected to crest at 25.1 feet on Thursday. Terry Hedges, the Gibson County emergency management director, said most of the flooding is on farmland.
The biggest concern now is the forecast for more rain.
"It's raining now and we're expecting more tonight and tomorrow," Robb said.
The National Weather Service predicted 1 to 3 more inches of rain would fall through Tuesday in southwestern Indiana.
"So there could still be issues for another two or three days until we get the rain out of here," weather service hydrologist Al Shipe said.
But Shipe said rivers north of Interstate 70 were receding.
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