Fears of flooding return

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Rain continues to come down, river levels rise. Last January and February, flooding washed out many who lived near the Oakdale Dam in Carroll County. A year later, they're preparing for the worst again.

Leslie Perdue moved back into her river view home in June after remolding after the floods of 2008 where 50 inches of water flowed over the banks of the Tippecanoe and into her home. When she remodeled, she made her place river proof.

"I didn't have any storage area at all," she said, adding that she has added some in recent her recent renovation.

She already filled it up with pictures and decorations in hopes that some items won't be destroyed if the river decides to fill her house again. If that should happen, she says she's ready to make more repairs.

"If it rolls through here again, we'll fix it again," Perdue explained.

Those who live near the Tippecanoe River said they got caught off guard during the floods of January and February 2008 and had to be rescued. This time they are not taking any chances. Leslie Perdue put a PVC pipe with a red ribbon on it at the edge of her yard. When the water gets to the ribbon, she'll leave.

"We have a bag packed, my kitty cat litter and food is beside the door. If we have to go, we can get out in a hurry," she said.

She'll watch the river levels through out the night, but her neighbor Georgia Lake has lived near the river 30 years and plans to be sound asleep despite the creeping water level.

"I'm so used to it. It don't bother me, so I don't get nervous," said Lake. "If I get up, put my feet in the water, I know it's in the house."

Many who decided to make the banks of the Tippecanoe River home, understand the water both gives and takes. It gives them a peaceful, beautiful view, but it can also wipe away anything in its way. For now, they hope the high water levels are only a tease and not a threat.