Thirteen homes in Central City were reportedly damaged by the severe flooding from the storm that hit Marion County in the first week of April. Some residents who were affected by the storm came to speak at the village meeting on Tuesday. One man said that he had unexpectedly woke up to find his home flooded with over a foot of water, having not received a warning that a flood was on the way.
Village officials said that they, too, had not been warned about the flooding that resulted from the release of water from Raccoon Lake until it was already happening. Police Chief Jamie Ramsey said that they are usually alerted well in advance, but that didn’t happen this time.
“In the past, it’s always been the rule that they do that so we can at least prepare for that rush of water that’s coming,” Ramsey said. “I didn’t know about it until one of my officers called and said ‘Hey, we’re starting to evacuate houses.’ We had no prior warning.”
Mayor Neely Reed says the village will continue working to assist residents who have been affected by the flooding and share information with the community. Central City has joined with other Marion County communities to collect surveys from victims and report the damage in the hopes of receiving state and federal disaster relief funding.
