COLUMBUS, Ind. (WTHR) - 10 years after an historic flood in Columbus, the water is gone but the damage brought lasting change to the community.
An open field on Pleasant Grove in downtown Columbus used to be a row of houses. Every home but one is long gone after the devastating flood of June 7, 2008.
5 to 11 inches of rain fell on already saturated ground and overflowing waterways in large area south of Interstate 70, causing widespread flooding in Morgan, Johnson and Bartholomew counties. Nearly 3,000 were homes damaged with almost 1,000 evacuations.
“It was a calamity,” said Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop. “There was water where I had no idea water would ever go or ever had been."
Former backyards on Pleasant Grove now belong to the roaming geese. The low-lying area will be turned into a butterfly zone park. But across the street, the Cummins Technical Center rebuilt and is now protected by a flood wall with steel gates. The facility was down for several months after the flood damage. Testing and development had to be temporarily moved to other Cummins facilities outside Columbus.
"We've got more contingencies,” said Cummins engineer Curt Barnhart during a walk on his lunch break. “We've been through things like this before. So, should another disaster occur, I think we'd be better prepared to handle it."
When the flood struck 10 years ago, 157 patients had to be evacuated after 13 feet of water, 130 million gallons, flooded the basement of Columbus Regional Health and shut down the hospital for over four months.
"To see how the community came together during an event like this now brings a lot of tears to your eyes because it was really a unifying moment,” said Columbus Regional Health facilities director David Lenart. “It wasn't just for the hospital. It was for the entire community."
Lenart led the effort to bring the hospital back online. The major improvements include a flood wall with vehicle and pedestrian gates that surround the facility.
"All the water would end up coming through this grate,” said Lenart, standing at one of the gates. “The water would build up underneath and the water pressure would then start lifting this gate up and would act upon this hinge and act as a complete barrier from any other flood waters from coming in."
Lenart says the hospital is now protected two feet above the flood waters of 2008, the highest ever recorded in Columbus. No weather event has activated the gates, yet.
Several rivers flow through the flat topography of Columbus, making certain areas of the city susceptible to occasional flooding. Mayor Lienhoop believes early warning gauges installed after 2008 and a mobile phone notification system have enhanced the city’s preparation for flood events. He keeps a close eye on the weather forecast.
"I pay attention,” Lienhoop said with a laugh. “I'll tell you that. But the warnings systems we have are I think are pretty accurate. So, I don't worry too much until they call. And then once they call, oh yeah, we've got to pay attention."
The 500-year flood may not wait that long to visit Columbus again.