Indiana seeks federal disaster aid after deadly storms and flooding

President Trump has approved a major disaster declaration for Indiana after a punishing round of severe weather left at least seven people dead, destroyed homes and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents across the state earlier this month.

How the storm system hit

On the morning of August 11, a thunderstorm system that the Storm Prediction Center classified as a derecho tore across the state from Illinois, producing extreme straight-line winds, at least two tornadoes, large hail and flash flooding as it moved through northwest and north-central Indiana before tracking south and east through the afternoon. The storm knocked down trees across a wide swath of the state and triggered a massive wave of power outages, with utility outages peaking at 363,398 homes and businesses statewide.

Repeated rounds of intense rain followed the initial storm, with six to nine inches of rainfall reported in some areas and additional rain falling in the days after, pushing multiple rivers past major flood stage. Aerial photos showed entire neighborhoods in northern Indianapolis and Cambridge City underwater, and displacement topped 1,000 residents at the height of the flooding. Seven deaths have been confirmed across Delaware, Henry, Jennings, Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties.

The federal response

Governor Mike Braun issued a statewide disaster declaration within two days of the storm, and Trump approved an emergency declaration on August 15 covering 53 counties, allowing FEMA to begin providing direct federal assistance. After state and federal teams completed joint preliminary damage assessments, Braun formally requested an expedited major disaster declaration on August 20 covering 54 counties, citing estimated damages that he told federal officials could exceed $5 billion.

Trump approved that request on August 26, making individual assistance available to residents in 21 counties and public assistance to local governments in 11 counties, with FEMA saying more counties could be added as damage reviews continue. FEMA named Darrin C. Ricketts as the federal coordinating officer overseeing the recovery. Indiana's congressional delegation, including its Democratic House members, had jointly urged the president to approve the request.

Recovery still underway

Some of the hardest-hit communities, including Gary in the state's northwest, went nearly two weeks without power, prompting Governor Braun to demand an investigation into utility provider NIPSCO over the length of the outages. The state has since rolled out a texting tool to help residents find recovery resources in their area, and the Department of Labor has stepped in to support both employers and displaced workers, while the American Red Cross continues to run shelters and accept donations for affected families. Individual assistance approved under the declaration can cover temporary housing, home repairs and other essential expenses for households with uninsured losses.