The Rapidan Dam near Mankato, Minnesota, risked 'imminent failure' after flooding of the Blue Earth River, officials warned.
HANNAH FINGERHUT, DAVE COLLINS and MARGERY A. BECKOutside Mankato, Minnesota, the local sheriff's office said Monday that there was a "partial failure" of the western support structure for the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River.Floodwaters breached levees in Iowa on Tuesday, creating dangerous conditions that prompted evacuations as the deluged Midwest faced another round of severe storms forecast for later in the day.
"Normally, this river is barely a trickle," 71-year-old Hank Howley said as she watched the Big Sioux's waters gush over a broken and partially sunken rail bridge in North Sioux City, South Dakota, on Monday. "Really, you could just walk across it most days." To the south in Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa, officials responded to residents' complaints that they had received little warning of the flooding and its severity. Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph said at a news conference Tuesday that rivers crested higher than predicted.
Further to the east in Humboldt, Iowa, a record crest of 16.5 feet was expected Wednesday at the west fork of the Des Moines River. Amid high temperatures and humidity, nearly 68,000 sandbags have been laid, according to county emergency manager Kyle Bissell. The weather service also predicted more than two dozen points of major flooding in southern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota and northern Iowa, and flood warnings are expected to continue into the week.
Dam Break Dam Failure Mankato Mn Dam Rapidan Mn Minnesota Weather Rapidan Dam Flooding 14998913
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