Wanda English Burnett, Editor

Ripley County received minimal damage from last week’s storms when you consider what neighboring Decatur and then Bartholomew counties went through over the weekend.

According to Jason Smith, EMS district manager, patients at the Columbus Regional Hospital, were evacuated after enormous volumes of rain pounded the area on Saturday, June 7.

Smith said the water rose quickly, filled the basement and then continued into the hospital area. Patients were removed from the seven-story facility and taken to area hospitals. The hospital is closed for an indefinite time. For information about patients who were transported you can call 812-372-3780.

Although Ripley County did not receive extensive damage as the neighboring county of Decatur, which had tremendous flooding, it is still listed as a county among those the President has declared major disaster counties. Nearly half of Indiana’s counties are included in the disaster declaration after storms swept through the state last week.

According to information from Rachel Meyer with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, interstates and highways were closed that included I-65 north of Columbus and US 31. There were multiple roads in Bartholomew and Decatur counties that were inoperable over the weekend.

Thousands of Hoosiers were evacuated from their homes in counties as close as Jackson and Bartholomew. Many of those remaining in the affected areas are without power and water.

Over 500 Indiana National Guardsmen were deployed to help with the flooding situation, along with members of the Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard. Various police agencies, along with DNR, Red Cross, FEMA, InDOT, fire and EMS personnel have been called upon to help with the massive effort. People have been rescued by boats and helicopters from their homes that filled quickly with the flood waters after the White River overflowed its banks. There was one confirmed fatality in the Columbus area as of Monday, June 9.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Near the Post Office in Greensburg, the road was flooded to the point of being impassable. When this photo was taken, the stop sign was barely visible and the flood waters were in the homes on the right side of the street.