Old News: Indy's last historic flood

• Last week, in the middle of summer with no snowmelt to blame, the White River blew past it.

Driving the (old) news: Six inches of rain fell on Indianapolis over five days starting on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913.

• During that time, areas north of the city got up to 12 inches, and ground saturated from previous storms caused excess water to quickly spread to creeks and rivers.
• Bridges citywide were damaged, and Indy's public water supply was shut down for nearly four days.

By the numbers: The White River crested near downtown at an estimated 31.5 feet — 19.5 feet above flood stage — though the true peak is unknown because the gauge was washed away overnight between March 25 and March 26.

• A levee failure near Kentucky Avenue sent a 25-foot wall of water through a half-mile-wide swath of the near west side, forcing 4,000 residents to flee.
• In addition to the thousands who lost their homes, five deaths were confirmed in the city, though unconfirmed witness reports suggest as many as 25 casualties.

• Statewide, the flood killed more than 100 Hoosiers and caused $25 million in damage.

The latest: The White River at Anderson crested at 24.93 feet last week, topping the record set in 1913 of 23.6 feet.

• Noblesville broke its own 1913 record of 23.8 feet, cresting near 24.5 feet.
• Indianapolis saw its worst flooding in more than 30 years, with the river cresting around 21.18 feet.

The bottom line: Indianapolis' flood infrastructure was largely engineered assuming 1913 was close to the worst-case scenario. Now, The Great Flood has competition.