Part of a Minnesota home has plunged into a river as deadly flooding threatens the nearby Rapidan Dam
Assessment and response efforts are underway as the area has seen significant damage and loss of infrastructure and property, authorities said Wednesday. As a result of the partial failure and raging waters, the river has swallowed a home, a power substation and power poles, a steel shipping container, county equipment and more, said Blue Earth County Administrator Robert Meyer.
The stricken home at the river’s edge is owned by the family of Jenny Barnes, which has also owned the nearby Dam Store for 50 years,reported. “It’s very close to the house. We had to evacuate this morning, get as much as we could out. All the freezers and such,” Barnes told WCCO Monday. “It’s my childhood. I grew up in the house, I grew up in the Dam Store. I’ve been there all my life.
As of Wednesday, there was no flow of water going over the dam as the bulk of the water went around the west side of the dam, Meyer said at a news conference.“Having been in water rescue my entire life, these are some of the most difficult conditions I have ever seen,” Cunningham said. The water flow rate at the dam peaked Monday and decreased slightly Tuesday, according to a news release from Blue Earth County emergency management officials. Authorities are continuing to monitor the dam and downstream impacts.