As John Weicker finishes his final two months of school, he’s counting down the days with a small ticker in his office.On Thursday, the counter read 44 days, plus a few hours, minutes and seconds.Melting snow and heavy rain caused river levels to shoot upward over the weekend but only to nuisance levels and most had crested by Monday afternoon.
The little snow on the ground didn’t contribute much, but nearly 2 inches of rain in some areas sent the St. Marys River to 23 feet by Monday, 6 feet above flood stage. Downstream in Fort Wayne, the river reached 15.6 feet Monday; it was expected to crest at 16.2 feet, below its flood stage of 17 feet.
In Bluffton, the Wabash River was at 15.2 feet Monday, well above its 12-foot flood stage, but below levels required to cause damage.
The Little River in Huntington crested Sunday below flood stage; the Maumee in Fort Wayne is expected to crest today 6 inches below its flood stage.
With the heavy rainfall mainly to the south, rivers north of Fort Wayne, such as the St. Joseph, remained well below flood stage.
The high water caused problems with several rural roads and highways in low-lying areas being closed because of standing water, including Indiana 101 at Pleasant Mills south of Decatur.
Officials warn drivers to never drive through standing water. Most flooding deaths occur in automobiles, according to the National Weather Service. Six inches of standing water is enough to cause passenger cars to stall and a foot of water will float many vehicles.
Which is what happened shortly before 7 a.m. Monday, when a driver called 911 to report that she was stuck in high water on South County Line Road, just west of the St. Marys River in southern Allen County, said Chief Paul VonBank of the Poe Fire Department.
VonBank said the woman was taking her usual route to work when she drove a sport utility vehicle into about 3 feet of water. The woman stayed in the vehicle until firefighters waded through 5 mph currents to reach her and bring her safely to dry land, he said.
South County Line Road had not been marked closed when the woman became stranded. Afterward it was shut down between Indiana 27 and Winchester Road, the chief said.
Journal Gazette reporter Archie Ingersoll contributed to this story.
