1/10/2005
Media Contact:
Jo Lynn Garing, 327-3690
Justin Ohlemiller, DMD, 327-6709 |
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Rainfall/Flooding Update
City inspectors plan evening inspections to monitor building safety, assess damage Indianapolis – After last week's heavy rainfall flooded many parts of Indianapolis, city inspectors today wrapped up their first round of structural assessments of homes affected by the floodwaters. In an effort to more effectively reach homeowners to perform structural inspections, city officials announced plans to return to the hardest hit neighborhoods tomorrow evening at 6 p.m.
Inspectors spent much of the morning in the Frog Hollow and Ravenswood neighborhoods, where they performed more than 260 exterior inspections of houses and determined none had structural damage visible on the outside. However, efforts to perform interior inspections were hampered by the fact inspectors could not gain access inside several houses because the residents were not home. No interior structural damage was found on any of the 73 houses where inspectors did gain access inside.
"Exterior inspections can only provide part of the picture. To be more thorough, our inspectors need to be able to assess any potential structural damage on the inside," said Rick Powers, administrator for the city's Division of Compliance. "After our field work today, we think that the evening time would be a better opportunity to reach homeowners and discuss any structural damage that may have occurred."
Beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, January 11) from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., city building inspectors will be performing inspections in the following areas:
- Frog Hollow, in an area bounded by Troy Ave. to the north, Sumner to the south and east of Harding;
- Ravenswood, along Fitch Ave. near the river; and
- Rivers Edge Lane, from the 7900 block to River Road.
Powers said inspectors will be available throughout the day tomorrow as well, and encouraged residents who are home and believe their house may have experienced some structural damage, to call the Mayor's Action Center at 327-4622 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to report the situation.
Powers also stressed that the purpose of these inspections is to ensure the safety of the house and determine its structural integrity; these inspections are not meant to assess damage to personal property or other non-structural damage.
Also, beginning today, the Department of Public Works will place dumpsters at the following locations:
- Ravenswood, three dumpsters at the former White River school; and
- Frog Hollow, four dumpsters placed throughout the neighborhood.
The dumpsters will remain at these locations for about two weeks.
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