Over the course of a week, heavy rain in Indiana resulted in flash flooding and caused the White River to crest at more than 24 feet in a couple communities, surpassing previous records. The Indianapolis mayor said this was the worst flood seen in the state's capital in over 30 years.
At least seven people have died in the flooding, including a 4-year-old boy and a cyclist who fell into a collapsed roadway, reports The Guardian. Firefighters had to rescue hundreds of people and hundreds of thousands were without power as of Monday morning.
Micah Clark, executive director of American Family Association of Indiana, says the danger is deceptive.
“People think they can go through with a car or a truck, and then it just lifts them off and takes them away. So, there's some tragic stories,” Clark states.
He's thankful that the church is responding to the need.
“The good thing is I've seen a lot of churches stepping up. Of course, you've got FEMA looking at the governor's declared emergency. It's a tragedy, but it's a real opportunity for the faith community to step up and help, and we're seeing that happen,” Clark says.
Eight Days of Hope (EDOH) is among the faith groups responding to the tragedy. Deploying to Lake County and staying from Wednesday through Aug. 29, their base of operations will be at Faith Temple of Christ Church.
President Steve Tybor says the most immediate need they can address is the lack of food.
“Our mass feeding team is already there feeding people. I think today they're making about 1,100 meals to provide food to those who have no power. Our rapid response heavy division deployed as well two days ago,” Tybor says.
One of the reasons EDOH has been so quick to respond is that they were already in Indiana working at other disaster sites.
“Between the tornado, the flooding, the derecho (a long-lived wind storm), it's been a wild 3-4 weeks in Indiana, and we're just thankful that we can be there serving those in need today as we speak,” Tybor states.
To help, go to at eightdaysofhope.com. Volunteers must be 16 and older, with those under 18 allowed with parental consent.
