Early Johnson County flood damage estimates: At least $100 million

By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer

A preliminary dollar amount of flood damage to homes, businesses and roads could nearly double by the time officials are done assessing the county.

A first glance by emergency management officials lists 800 structures with damage, though officials said that number doesn't include everything, such as homes that had water in their crawlspace but little or no other visible damage.

A computer program using eight-year-old U.S. Census Bureau data estimated $109 million in damage had been done.

But emergency management director Forrest "Tug" Sutton believes that number could reach $200 million.

Local and state officials aren't sure of the total amount of damage caused in this week's flood.

A Ball State University study this week estimated the flood damage in Indiana at $126 million.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials did a quick assessment earlier this week but looked only at Franklin since the damage they saw there pushed Johnson County past a cutoff for a major disaster.

Emergency management officials are working to figure out the damage in the county and are awaiting a more in-depth study from the Polis Center, an Indianapolis academic research center, by early next week.

The preliminary figure of structures damaged comes from estimates from Sutton and other local officials of damage in areas around the county.

The dollar amount is from a FEMA computer program, which takes home values and other figures from the 2000 Census and applies the projected damage from a 100-year flood, county geographic information systems technician Aaron Shaw said.

What the program showed for a 100-year flood was similar to the areas affected in this week's flooding, he said.

A listing of damage by counties is not yet available, Shaw said.

The assessment also estimated the county as having 7,866 tons of debris, including trees, furniture and pieces of buildings, Sutton said.