Crazy images show major dam breach in Minnesota — with buildings and roads destroyed in flooding
Several buildings and roads along Minnesota’s Blue Earth River have been destroyed by floodwaters following a dam breach Monday, with residents in low-lying areas warned to evacuate the shores.
Harrowing footage shared by Fox Weather shows the moment the powerful current along the river erodes the shore to the point where a small building and nearby trees are swallowed up by the raging waters.
The destroyed building could be seen slowly being dragged off by the flood until it plummets down a small waterfall and disappears from view in the mist.
Other videos from the scene showed the dire situation at the Rapidan Dam, which was experiencing an “imminent failure condition” after storm debris accumulated around the 114-year-old dam.
The water could be seen bursting through large cracks on the dam, with the ground eroding around a nearby home as the flood threatened to devour it.
The National Weather Service had issued a flash flood warning for areas downstream until 10:30 a.m., with residents in the low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley warned to monitor the situation and evaducat if needed.
Blue Earth County officials said the breach in the dam was caused by high water and debris from the weekend’s flood hitting the dam.
Gov. Tim Walz said that at least 40 counties had been impacted by the flood as of Monday, adding that no serious injuries or deaths have been reported so far.
“I think as we see these chaotic climate events, we need to think about how we’re building back more resiliently,” Walz said in a news conference.
Minnesota wasn’t the only state to face severe flooding, as Iowa experienced record-setting levels caused by the weekend storm, according to Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The floods in Iowa left one person dead, damaged thousands of homes and prompted evacuation calls and natural disaster declarations.
It led to major surges in the Rock and both the Big and Little Sioux Rivers, leading to flood level records being broken at 16 different locations in Iowa, Reynolds said.
The surge along the Big Sioux River also caused the main railroad bridge that connects Iowa and South Dakota to collapse, Kare 11 reported.
Sioux City officials said the Big Sioux River, in Riverside, crested at 45 feet Monday morning, way above the previous record of 37 feet.
“We have damaged roads. We have damaged bridges,” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said of the damages also facing her state. “That will impact us for many, many months to come.”
