WASHINGTON, Ind. — Knowing for days that a surge of floodwater was coming their way hasn’t made it easier for those living along the southern reaches of Indiana’s White River.

A 150-foot section of a levee broke on Wednesday, allowing water from the weekend flooding in central Indiana to rush like rapids into melon and corn fields in Daviess County. The water, at points, stretched to the horizon in all directions as officials estimated the river was three miles wide.

While the new flooding hit rural areas with few homes and other levees held in protecting communities scattered along the river, National Guard troops and Marines helped in sandbagging at the Gibson County town of Hazleton, the site of a similar fight against the river in 2005.

Gov. Mitch Daniels visited some cities and towns in central Indiana on Wednesday to review damage from the flooding caused by up to 10 inches of rain and last week’s tornadoes. Work continued on a statewide damage assessment, but officials said that at least 800 homes in seven counties were destroyed or received major damage in the storms.

Meanwhile, President Bush late Wednesday approved individual assistance programs for eight counties, Daniels said. The action makes federal aid available for affected homeowners, renters and businesses in Bartholomew, Hancock, Johnson, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.

Earlier, Rod Healy stood amid the new flooding on the sloped lawn surrounding his turkey farm outside Washington as conservation officers approached in fan boats.

Healy and his family have refused to leave behind their home and livestock in the area about 50 miles north of Evansville even though his house appeared as an island in the middle of a lake.

“There’s too much riding on me staying,” said Healy, a 38-year-old who wore rubber boots reaching nearly to his knees. “There’s three-quarters of a million dollars out here.”

Healy drove a wooden stick in his yard to mark the highest point the waters had been. By Wednesday afternoon, the waters had fallen three feet.

“I got it made now — it’s going down,” Healy said, laughing excitedly. “I’m not saying it’s going down fast, but we didn’t expect that, did we?”

The levee break also threatened to swamp the wells that provide drinking water for Washington’s 11,000 residents, but Mayor Larry Haag said that danger passed with the receding floodwaters.

Neighboring Knox County has seen extensive flooding near the community of Sandborn, said John Streeter, the county’s emergency management director. He said farmland was submerged and between 200 and 300 people have reported water in their homes or businesses.

The Wabash River on Knox County’s western border has run high, triggering some creek flooding and evacuations north of Vincennes around U.S. 41. But Streeter said a levee breach close to nearby Lawrenceville, Ill., may help tame flooding elsewhere.

“It’s unfortunate that that happened, but it should relieve pressure downstream from Vincennes,” he said.

Duke Energy reported some minor flooding damage to its power plant in Edwardsport on the White River in Knox County. The utility company shut down the plant on Monday, but the 160-megawatt plant is one of the smaller points on Duke’s system.

“It has not affected our ability to supply customers,” spokeswoman Angeline Protogere said.

A bigger concern lies farther south in Gibson County, where workers at Duke’s 3,000-megawatt plant — the third largest in the country — were ready to sandbag if necessary.

The Wabash and White rivers were expected to crest at their juncture south of Vincennes on Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service forecast a 50 percent or more chance of thunderstorms in southern and central Indiana on Friday, but lesser chances of more rain on Saturday and Sunday.

About 1,300 National Guard troops helped Wednesday to place sandbags at seven southern Indiana locations, including Hazleton and Vincennes, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Some 200 Guardsmen, Marines and Gibson County work-release inmates placed sandbags to reinforce Hazleton’s levee along the White River.

“I’m ready for it to quit raining,” said Terry Hedges, the Gibson County emergency management director. “I’m ready for the hurricanes to go south.”