Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank and the county’s trustee association are collecting buckets, bleach and heavy-duty trash bags for residents digging out from record White River flooding.
Hamilton County residents who want to help their flooded neighbors now have seven places to drop off supplies — and they are the same township trustee offices where locals already go for emergency assistance.
Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank, working with the Hamilton County Trustee Association, has launched a countywide donation drive for residents whose homes were damaged when the White River shattered a 113-year-old flood record last week. Township trustee offices across the county are serving as collection points, and the food bank will coordinate distribution of what comes in.
The need is for cleanup and recovery supplies rather than food or clothing. Organizers are asking for:
- Heavy-duty trash bags
- Buckets
- Heavy-duty sponges
- Paper towels
- Cleaning products
- Bleach
- Rubber gloves
- Mops and brooms
- Disposable face masks
- Scrub brushes
Where to drop off donations
- Clay Township — 10701 N. College Ave., Ste. B, Carmel, IN 46280
- Delaware Township — 9090 E. 131st St., Fishers, IN 46038
- Fall Creek Township — 11595 Brook School Road, Fishers, IN 46037
- Jackson Township — 506 W. Main St., Box 456, Arcadia, IN 46030
- Noblesville Township — 836 Division St., Noblesville, IN 46060
- Wayne Township — 18441 Durbin Road, Noblesville, IN 46060
- Westfield Washington Township — 17400 Westfield Blvd., Westfield, IN 46074
Residents should check office hours before making a trip, as trustee offices generally keep weekday business hours and several staffs have been stretched thin by storm-related assistance requests.
Why cleaning supplies
The list may look mundane next to images of boat rescues and submerged neighborhoods, but flood recovery experts consistently rank cleanup gear among the most urgently needed and least donated items after a flood. Floodwater that has passed through streets, storm drains and sanitary systems leaves behind contaminated silt, and homeowners are advised to remove soaked drywall, insulation and carpet quickly to stay ahead of mold — work that consumes gloves, masks, bags and bleach at a rate few households keep on hand.
Cleaning products are also among the items federal food assistance cannot cover: SNAP benefits may not be used for soap, bleach, paper towels or trash bags, which leaves flooded families buying them out of pocket at exactly the moment their budgets are gone.
The flood behind the drive
The White River at Noblesville crested at a record 24.6 feet on Sunday, Aug. 16, topping the 23.8-foot mark set during the catastrophic statewide flood of 1913. More than 11 inches of rain fell across parts of central Indiana beginning Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Hamilton County commissioners declared a state of emergency Friday, Aug. 14, as more than 60 roads closed countywide, including stretches of State Road 37, State Road 19 and U.S. 31. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office helped more than 160 families and several business owners evacuate voluntarily from the Riverwood community north of Noblesville.
Damage assessments released as the water receded counted roughly 552 residential units affected in Noblesville and about 230 properties in Carmel, where 40 residents were relocated and 14 were evacuated from senior living facilities. Fishers crews rescued an estimated 16 to 18 people from homes and along the river. Westfield reported no displaced residents. The Hazel Dell Road bridge between 96th and 106th streets sustained damage significant enough to require an engineering review.
Statewide, at least seven deaths have been attributed to the storms. Gov. Mike Braun declared a state of emergency, mobilized the Indiana National Guard and asked the federal government for an emergency declaration.
Other ways to help
The American Red Cross is operating a 24-hour resource center at Exhibition Hall on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, 2003 Pleasant St. in Noblesville; the number there is 317-645-3261. About 1,300 volunteers have registered through Noblesville Serve. Cash donations for flood recovery are being routed through the Hamilton County Community Foundation, and Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank is running its own emergency relief fund, with contributions going toward groceries and restaurant gift cards for displaced residents staying in hotels without kitchens.
Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank is based at 89 S. Byron St. in Cicero and supplies pantries and feeding programs across the county. By its own estimate, roughly 33,666 county residents were food insecure before the river ever left its banks — about 7,136 of them children.