Floodwaters submerge Midwest neighborhoods bracing for more severe storms
Muddy floodwaters seeped into the homes of Indiana and Ohio residents this week, as severe storms struck the Midwest. Now, some areas are bracing for even more rain.
August 13, 2026 / 11:17 AM EDT / CBS News
Flooding submerged Indiana neighborhoods in water for the second day in a row, as parts of the state saw Wednesday the highest daily rainfall totals ever recorded in their areas.
Some braced for more severe weather still ahead, as meteorologists warned Thursday that Indianapolis faced the greatest threats of storms slated to bring heavy rain to the Midwest throughout the rest of the week.
Upwards of 36 million people were under flood alerts Thursday across the region, according to the National Weather Service. Its forecast offices in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Tennessee warned that rainfall across each state could be persistent and widespread, potentially drenching parts of each state with another 4 inches or more.
The expected round of rainfall could bring strong winds, large hail, and additional flash flooding to communities recovering from extreme weather that has already wreaked havoc in recent days.
Since Monday, 277 flash flooding incidents have been reported across the Ohio Valley, according to CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan, as deadly storms and tornadoes slammed the region. Since Tuesday, leaders in the region have declared seven different flash flood emergencies, and a quarter of a million people in Indiana and Illinois woke Thursday to power outages caused by the storms .