AURORA, Ind. — People in Aurora, along the banks of the rising Ohio River, spent much of Friday loading everything they owned onto trucks or shoving it onto second floors. Water levels not seen since 2018 have been forecast for early next week, and those living in the small town remember that time well.
WCPO archive footage shows a man kayaking past Kevin's Hoosier Auto Repair at peak flood levels. We visited the business as workers worked steadily to clear out the business.
Jennifer Caudill said her husband, the business owner, immediately left to get a 26-foot U-Haul when he heard the flood stage could reach 60 feet.
"Everything has got to be taken out," she said. "There's thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of equipment that all has to be loaded into the truck."
WATCH: Evacuation begins in Aurora as Ohio River rises
Caudill said four and a half feet of water filled the business in 2018, leaving caked-on mud that had to be cleaned out. The business then needed to be repainted and refilled with equipment before they could reopen."
Down the road at Aurora Tire Center, manager Michael Andrew was drawing up plans of his own to minimize damage.
The original headquarters for the business could take on four feet of water at 60 feet of flood stage. Their new facility across the street on higher ground had a foot and a half of water during 2018's floods.
"We are fully aware the water can get to us," Andrew said. "We try to prepare. The buildings are built knowing we have the possibility to flood, and we have a second floor where we try to store a lot of our inventory."
Both businesses said the floods could cause them to close for days at a time as they wait for water to recede and then begin to repair or replace damaged items.
Still, Caudill and Andrew assured customers they would reopen as soon as possible.
"About a week," Caudill said, "that's what it took us the last time."
The flood waters are expected to peak Sunday night into Monday morning.
