Record Flooding Swamps Indiana; Braun Seeks Federal Aid

Severe storms tore across the Midwest, with damage reported from the Chicago area to western Pennsylvania. Three people died in Indiana — a 4-year-old boy killed when a tree fell onto his home; a 58-year-old woman in Gary struck by roofing material blown from a nearby store; and a woman in northwest Indiana killed in a house explosion during the storms.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett declared a local disaster emergency as creeks and streams swelled across central Indiana, according to USA Today. The Associated Press account carried by The Independent placed the declaration a day later.

Sheriff's deputies in Delaware County, east of Indianapolis, found the body of a 58-year-old woman who they believe died after trying to drive through floodwaters.

The White River crested at a record 24.6 feet in Noblesville before beginning a slow decline, according to NOAA river gauge data. The old record, 23.8 feet, had stood since 1913. The river also topped 24 feet in Anderson, breaking a 1913 mark there.

Indianapolis Department of Public Works crews closed floodgates in Broad Ripple and Rocky Ripple. In Rocky Ripple, officials urged residents to get out before 53rd Street — the community's last road out — was shut.

Hogsett appeared with emergency managers to urge residents along the river to evacuate. National Guard vehicles joined the rescue effort.

The National Weather Service forecast the White River near Broad Ripple to crest around 8 p.m. at about 20.5 feet, with the possibility of a slightly higher level if rain kept falling.