Flash flooding in Monroe County caused extensive damage Friday to May’s Greenhouse on Bloomington’s south side. Owners woke up to find four feet of water in multiple greenhouses.

Heavy rain on Thursday overwhelmed the creek that flows behind the popular business, causing thousands of dollars in structural damage to the grounds. The severe weather damaged a wide array of plants and machinery.

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965.

“It’s just all a jumbled mess and right now I’m just trying to fix the structures so that they can hold heat. Tomorrow I’m going to start putting things right up so that they don’t mold. That’s another concern,” Fulton says.

At one point during the storm, water levels rose so high that they lifted two of the business’s semi-trailers off the ground, moved them about 50 yards and flipped the semis onto their sides.

Fulton says they’re trying to fix the facility in time for the spring planting season.

“At the moment, I just really don’t know how long it could be. The springtime rush usually starts around mid-April and that’s coming up pretty quick,” he says.

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

Co-owner Jason Michell Fulton says this is the first time severe weather has caused extensive damage to the business since it opened in 1965. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

The severe weather also caused damage to several other properties in the county. Monroe County Emergency Management Services (EMS) is urging residents to report flood damage so the state can provide that information to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

EMS Deputy Director Shelle Fletcher says that the department is currently in the process of collecting and sending data to FEMA.

“If we get a phone call that says that [local residents] have some type of foundation or they had more than 18 inches of water in their home, then that’s going to prompt us to do an on-site visit,” Fletcher says.

Damage from the flooding extended beyond just May’s Greenhouse. According to Fletcher, there have been hundreds of family homes with damage to carpets, drywall, and foundations within their homes.

But for FEMA to provide aid, Monroe county must prove that over 25 homes or businesses were seriously damaged or destroyed by floodwaters.

“There’s quite a bit of criteria that we have to go through to see if a home is majorly damaged or destroyed. That’s the process we’re in now. We’re just gathering data form homeowners that have had some type of damage,” Fletcher says.

Soon after the flood, Fletcher’s department set up a hotline for Monroe county residents to call to get more help. A local damage report form was also made available on the EMS website.

“There was a press release to that effect late last week, so we have been receiving calls in response to that. I think I probably have 50-75 voicemails and another 50 to 75 [submitted] forms,” Fletcher says.

Monroe County Emergency Management Services wrote a press release in response to the flooding damage. (Omeed Malek, IU NewsNet)

“As I said, I’ve just been gathering the data and trying to see how many of those homes and residences are going to qualify to help us meet that threshold. I’m not sure that we will, considering FEMA’s high standards for damage, but we’re hopeful.”

FEMA could make funding available to residents who experienced storm-related property damage.