SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – The National Weather Service is beginning its flood assessments as water levels start to recede after days of flooding.
They will go out to document the debris so they can anticipate the impacts of future floods.
“One of the telltale signs over here of flooding, you can see it on this vehicle. You can see this water line all across the bottom part of this car, and that tells you essentially how high the water was in this area,” said Jason Puma, a senior meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
Jessica McDonald’s house is one of the spots Jason’s crew stopped at. McDonald lived here for 30 years and said flooding isn’t uncommon, but this was unexpected.
“This time it was over 20 feet, so, yeah, it’s been the worst we’ve seen in my lifetime down here,” said McDonald.
Once the water started rising Friday night, she said she packed up what she could and got out of there. We were with her as she entered her home for the first time since then.
Her biggest concern was her two cats, Tom and Jerry.
“I would have took them out. I didn’t expect it getting in the house so,” said McDonald. “I didn’t really have anywhere to go at that time, I was rushing around but I should have taken them out with me. That’ll never happen again.”
The high water caused chaos inside her house, from sopping wet carpet to the smell of an evident gas leak.
Due to safety concerns, McDonald called in the fire department to go inspect the damage and search for her pets. Both Tom and Jerry were found safe and sound.
Now she’ll be focusing on cleaning up the damage.
“It’s a lot to take in. I live by myself so, you know, but I’ve got a great group of friends,” said McDonald. “They’ve all asked, and they’re willing to come out here as soon as they can come out and help and I really, really appreciate that, and I’m grateful for it.”
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