Midwest flooding has resulted in serious damage, including the collapse of a bridge, the weakening of a dam, and the evacuation of a community.
The affected population of Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska is close to 3 million.
According to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, the record flooding caused “severe and widespread” devastation in the border region of South Dakota and Iowa. In South Dakota and Iowa, there have been at least one death each.
In an update released Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service stated that while “There is little likelihood of more rain falling over the next two to three days,” flooding impacts will persist in some areas of South Dakota and Iowa.
Iowa
The sheriff’s office in Clay County, Iowa, reported that one person perished in the flooding over the weekend.
Floodwater isolated Spencer, the county seat of Clay County and home to more than 11,000 residents, from the outside world. According to Spencer Fire Chief Jesse Coulson, 383 people have been rescued after hundreds were evacuated to shelters.
Twenty-year-old Nate Gastelum claimed that when he and his roommate in Spencer decided they had to leave, they were at home.
“We were forced to continually reverse, so we began at the street and ended up at the rear of the residence,” Gastelum remarked. “There was definitely a strange vibe, so my roommate and I decided that we should leave.”
Gastelum said that his house would be uninhabitable for some time due to flooding in his basement.
“However, that pales in comparison to the experiences of those in our vicinity,” he remarked. “On the south side of town, those residences are all but gone.”
Gastelum reported massive power outages, automobiles floating or submerged in the streets, and collapsing houses all around the town. According to Gastelum, people who were stuck in their houses had to jump from upper levels into boats in order to escape.
Nevertheless, the city has united to support those who are most impacted, he said.
“What’s great about this town is that everyone who wasn’t badly affected is welcoming as many guests as they can accommodate,” he remarked. “Like my mother, she has taken in two dogs and eleven other people after their house was completely destroyed.”
“I was assisting families in reaching safe zones using my truck bed,” Gastelum stated.
Reynolds spent Monday touring a few locations in northwest Iowa. She declared five counties to be in an emergency and one county to be in a state of disaster.
“In practically every municipality impacted, the river crested several feet above record levels from the 1993 disaster,” Reynolds stated during a press conference on Sunday.
The fire marshal of Sioux City described the floods as “unprecedented,” noting that the region has not seen damage of this magnitude before and that it is hard to forecast what will happen next.
Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph stated, “This much water and this degree of downpour at one time have never been observed by anyone.” He also mentioned that as the water rises inside a temporary levee constructed to control the flooding, the evacuation area will expand.
The National Weather Service reports that a flood warning will be in force until 1 p.m. on Tuesday in several areas of northwest Iowa.
South Dakota
On Sunday night, a railroad bridge that crossed the Big Sioux River to connect North Sioux City, South Dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa, collapsed.
According to the South Dakota Highway Patrol, one person perished in South Dakota after operating a utility task vehicle that rolled down an embankment formed by a washed-out road.
Gov. Kristi Noem reminded residents to avoid flooding and asked them to put their own and their family’ safety as a top priority.
“We did experience one fatality during the entire incident,” Noem stated. “And so for that family, the reality of how dangerous this is is starting to sink in.”
Noem issued a warning, saying that the days ahead would be “tough” and that the state would be affected by the flood’s devastation for months to come.
At a press conference on Monday, Noem stated, “Today, we witness it firsthand, in case we needed another reminder of how terrible water is.”
The National Weather Service says that there is still a flood warning in effect for Southeast South Dakota until 1:00 PM on Tuesday.
Minnesota
A dam close to Rapidan in south-central Minnesota faces “imminent failure” due to structural problems brought on by the floods. However, as they continue to assess the situation, local authorities claim there is no plan for a “mass evacuation” and it is still operational for the time being.
A flash flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service for regions downstream of the Rapidan Dam along the Blue Earth River through 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The organization advised everyone who was in a low-lying area beneath the dam to get to higher ground right away.
A flood watch is in place in some southwest areas of the state, while a flood warning is still in effect for the remainder of southern Minnesota through Tuesday.