Muncie residents can expect sunnier weather today after other parts of Indiana had heavy rainfalls and deadly floods, according to the National Weather Service.
The rain Muncie experienced Tuesday left the city far dryer than other parts of the state, as the total was recorded at .67 inches of rain as of Tuesday evening, according to NWS.
Heavy rain and melting snow pushed rivers and streams over their banks in other cities, with floodwaters killing at least three people, including two children in an SUV that plunged into several feet of water.
A mother was driving her five children along a flooded rural road near Rochester when her SUV stalled in the deep water, the Fulton County Sheriff's Department said. The Chevy Tahoe then floated into even deeper water near the city, which is about 45 miles south of South Bend.
The driver, 29-year-old Megihann K. Leininger of rural County, rescued three of her children, ages 3 months to 4 years. But she was unable to get to 5-year-old Shay Leininger and 2-year-old Ashley Pruitt, who died, the sheriff's department said.
Lynn Breeden said she saw the SUV enveloped by water at the intersection and called 911. She said she did not suspect the water was so deep.
"It was flowing really heavy, really fast," said Breeden, a youth pastor at the church the family belongs to. "I looked back over and the car was almost under. It just happened fast."
The rising waters forced hundreds to evacuate and turned dry roads into deadly flash floods in north-central Indiana. Jasper, White, Carroll and Benton counties declared states of emergency.
In Remington, about 55 miles southwest of Rochester, 56-year-old Ronnie D. Napier of Goodland drowned when his truck was swept into Carpenter Creek floodwaters at about 4:30 a.m., said Shawn Brown, a conservation officer with the Department of Natural Resources.
"Witnesses ... saw him in the creek and they saw him go underneath the bridge and never saw him again," Brown said.
Karen Wilson, Jasper County Emergency Management director, said up to 150 people were evacuated in Remington and up to 30 homes were affected by water. Between 50 and 60 people were taken to the First Christian Church, many from a mobile home park on the edge of the city.
One of those evacuees, Linda Kleinschmidt, 53, said she, her husband, son and godson were rescued at about 3 a.m. from their rented mobile home by sheriff's deputies in a Hummer. Water was rising about 6 inches every half an hour on the steps outside their home, she said.
"They came around pounding on the doors, telling everybody we had to get out because the water was rising," Kleinschmidt said. "It got pretty scary."
A crew from the Indiana Department of Transportation was inspecting a bridge on U.S. 24 east of the city. The road was closed for more than 20 miles between Reynolds and Interstate 65.
"We're concerned about the bridge and roadway under the bridge being undermined, that is, washed out," said INDOT spokesman Joshua Bingham.
Streets in Remington were blocked by standing water, but some places were dry enough for children to throw around a football and for a woman to ride a bike.
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