ELNORA, Ind. -- A levee break on the swollen White River sent floodwaters pouring into several square miles of farmland and caused authorities on Wednesday to urge residents to evacuate.

The levee failed early Wednesday near the rural community of Capehart, and the floodwater was within six inches of topping the protective casing around the drinking wells for the nearby city of Washington by late morning, said state Rep. Dave Crooks, speaking for the Daviess County Emergency Management Agency.

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"We've got about a 40-yard swath of levee that's gone," Crooks said. "We've got rapidly rising water in that whole bottom area. If you've got a home there, it's pretty serious."

The fight to contain flooding continued to move downstream on the White River as its basin absorbed the bulk of the up to 11 inches of rain that caused weekend flooding in many areas of central and southern Indiana.

Gov. Mitch Daniels was visiting several cities and towns in central Indiana on Wednesday to review damage from the flooding and last week's tornadoes.

Crooks said Washington's 11,000 residents were asked Wednesday to conserve water and stock up on bottled water in case the pumps became flooded in the area some 50 miles north of Evansville.

The flooding posed no immediate threat to Washington, but about 40 homes closer to the river were in risk of damage or destruction, Crooks said. Some river cabins and trailers have been washed away.

Crooks estimates that the flooded area from the White River is three miles wide a bit north of Washington.

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.

"We can't get out to some of them," he said.

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 on the Indiana side of the river.

"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, and employees stacked sandbags to protect it. The river has since crested and receded a bit, spokeswoman Angeline Protogere said.

The 160-megawatt plant provides enough power for roughly 53,000 homes and is one of the smaller points on Duke's system.

"It has not affected our ability to supply customers," she said.

A bigger concern lies farther south in Gibson County. Workers at Duke's largest plant are watching Wabash River levels rise and ready to sandbag if necessary. That 3,000 megawatt plant is the third-largest in the United States.

"They are not experiencing any immediate problems right now, but they are monitoring the situation very closely," Protogere said.

Duke Energy, Indiana's largest power provider, has restored service to nearly every customer who lost power during the recent storms. The storms affected more than 100,000 customers, and the power company reported only 99 power failures as of Wednesday afternoon.

Protogere said some homes or businesses with heavy flood damage haven't been able to take power.