Videos show Minnesota flooding, rushing waters near Rapidan Dam and more

Watch CBS News Minnesota’s coverage of the catastrophic flood damage impacting parts of the state over the past week.

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we just really wanted to stop raining and I think that’s what the whole Community wants right now is just to stop raining yeah I think just about the entire state is with you on that one an but especially here in Waterville where some have to get in a kayak just to leave their home new tonight County leaders there say that the flooding has forced them to declare a state of emergency especially with more rain on the way the city which is about an hour south of the Metro is just swamped here’s why they’re surrounded by two swollen lakes and a pair of waterways that are overflowing with all the rain UI shows us how the community is facing the flood of trouble together the rain continues to fall I’m really nervous and scared about everything that’s going on right now as Lake sakata swallows docks and inches closer to an brolik camper I’ve never seen anything like this before it’s it’s just it’s crazy parts of Waterville are underwater for ing residents to get creative to stay dry While others ditch their cars to get around you pretty much have to be on a kayak right now in this small community of less than 2,000 people the sound of some pumps and sandbagging Echo as fast as we load trucks families are coming in to load well over 7,000 sand bags have been filled but despite the efforts lour Emergency Management director Tammy STG says they need one thing why can’t that water go just go down for us and help these families out some we just really want it to stop raining and I think that’s what the whole Community wants right now is just to stop raining and until the Lakes Reed it’s this community showing up for one another we just feel like we’re part of the community now that we camp here and uh he just wanted to really go help out and if you want to help they’re filling more sandbags tomorrow from 9: to 2 and then again from 600 to 8 in Waterville uba Ali WCCO news about an hour south of the cities in Waterville people are hard at work trying to stop the rising Waters there the Canon river runs through two big lakes surrounding the town today volunteers continue to put sandbags together as rain keeps falling and water keeps rising in some parts of town standing water is inching closer to homes and campgrounds our John lordson is keeping a close eye on the changes he joins us live from Waterville John Wy you tell us out there yeah Sheila a lot of activity here this morning as you might imagine in fact we’ve got some sandbagging going on behind me they just had another load come through uh there’re sand big in this house behind us right now a lot of volunteers people from all over the community have been showing up and that’s really the big thing here in Waterville they keep talking about is strangers helping strangers and and people just stepping out of the woodwork to really assist so it’s been a full-time activity here for the poor folks of Waterville the last couple of days you can kind of see that Canon River and where Dave Cheney photojournalist is kind of going right now with the camera that’s as you mentioned Shayla two rivers that run or two a river that runs through two Lakes rather and this is an extension of that one of those Lakes that’s kind of uh creeping up here onto this street that’s a dental practice right there that’s where they were working all morning and you can see how they sandbagged that trying to save that dental practice from flooding uh a problem here that we’re seeing is when Dave got and I got out here a couple hours ago the water was just kind of creeping up on the dental practice the dental office there now it’s come all the way down the street and uh unfortunately it’s getting close to some of these homes which is why they’re sandbagging right now we probably have a couple dozen volunteers we’ve talked with teachers we’ve talked with people who work in construction we’ve talked with people obviously who work at uh the dental office here coming out to help save their business but also then subsequently coming to save some of these homes Shayla so we have uh water that continues to rise you can see the rain coming down on me right now you can see the rain coming down on these volunteers behind me again when we got here this morning Shayla just a couple hours ago it was creeping up on that dental office uh that we have here it’s been there for about 50 years actually they’re telling me the uh the the dentist that runs that and then ever since then in the last couple hours has come up to about where I’m standing now in fact even Beyond it’s behind these cars behind me me now so a full-time job here a couple more inches of rain from what I’m hearing is expected in Waterville so fingers crossed for the folks here they continue to ask for more volunteers and they continue to work hard to try and save their homes and businesses all right John lson reporting some of those properties looking more like Islands right now as they continue that sandbagging process thanks so much John rain continues to fall and water continues to rise in the town of Waterville volunteers have been working all day to help sandbag John lison is there to show us how town is coming together to fight the rising water needs to get done and people need need help so let’s get out and help it’s that small tole mentality that might just save Bill str’s dental practice you know there’s been times when there have been water over the road but nothing like this stru has been a dentist for decades and he’s seen flooding before but this is the first time he’s been worried about some of his dental equipment getting damaged this is the cannon Lake system and you know we have a lot of rain coming in from the north that’s the problem you got three or four you know air that you know we drained from the north and a little slow going to you know out of here so we’ll see what happens at least he’s getting a hand from not only neighbors but also patients you know we thought well it’s just preventive it won’t get that high and I came today and I’m like oh my God I started calling patients like can you help us we’re going to be underwater here within a matter of hours the water went from the dental practice up the street and it’s getting closer to these homes adding to the urgency here in Waterville even from this morning it’s creeped up a lot I mean I mean this wasn’t even in our front yard before so it’s getting pretty scary as the rain continues sand beggers quickly work to protect Lindsay Carlson’s house one of many getting attention in a water logged Waterville knowing that volunteers are willing to step up gives her peace of mine I’m from a small town and I always thought I would live in a small town because that Community is it’s where it’s at they all come together and help when you need it in lur County John lordson WCCO news with rain falling much of the day Waterville fishal aren’t sure when the flood waters will crest city leaders say anyone uh they anyone that wants to help sandbag more volunteers would be very welcome right now Governor Tim Walls plans to make a disaster declaration to help hard- hit communities in Minnesota he toured flood damage up north in town of cook today this is uh the nearly 90-year-old Comet theater as you can see it is nearly completely submerged up to the seats business owners say this is a double hit after a winter with very little snow also the local economy wall says it’s important for those affected to keep receipts so the state can eventually help because the way this process works is we’ll do a damage assessment over the coming days and weeks those will get funneled up if we hit a threshold number that it looks like we will in some of these areas but we won’t know until all those receipts are in we can apply for a federal or presidential declaration once that happens that opens up FEMA dollars to come down the governor says FEMA funds will cover 75% of public infrastructure and the state will cover the other 25% he says if the state doesn’t meet that threshold he will use the state Disaster Assistance contingency account those are State funds set aside for emergencies we’ll continue our continuing coverage of the rain and the floods with our next weather team and there’ll of course be monitoring conditions on TV and on our stream CBS News Minnesota flooding in one sibl County town is leaving residents with only one way in or out Henderson is feeling the impacts of the Rising Minnesota River it’s forcing road closures and as our uba Ali found out it’s proving to be a headache for residents with long commutes this is supposed to be a portion of Highway 19 here in Henderson but recent rainfall has turned it into an extension of the Minnesota River with the flood waters expected to continue to rise residents say it’s this Dyke and sandbags that’s giving them hope we’re relying on dirt to protect our livelihood here mhm a typical stroll now has Kyle hilgers on pins and needles as the Minnesota River Rises as it creeps even closer after completely covering a portion of Highway 19 East forcing a closure it makes the commute every day a big pain in the butt even more so with Highway 93 closed for construction to raise it approximately 8 ft putting it 1T above historic high water levels County Road 6 also under construction to avoid future flooding leaving Highway 19 going west as the only option it’s a good thing there’s only 900 people here meaning longer drive time and more miles for those with an already long commute just for what I drive in 2 weeks time just to go to work and back I drive to Florida it’s the same distance as residents shell out more money at the pump businesses are also feeling the pinch the road closures have definitely impacted our flow here in Henderson for all the businesses but that’s not stopping a community fighting to stay above water just one day at a time in Henderson Eva Ali WCCO news we are following breaking news this morning in Waterville where there is significant flooding and the National Guard has been called in to help Waterville is in lur County just over an hour Southwest of the Twin Cities volunteers are still needed to help fill sandbags there Barrett Leon joins us live from Waterville Barrett well Esme it’s really a stunning scene here in town and to be honest this isn’t even the worst of it like you said Governor Tim Walls has asked the National Guard to come step in and help he’s also declared a peacetime emergency here in town neighbors tell us that this street which is about past my ankles now was dry Friday night today clearly that’s a different story but roads are closed around town so we don’t have a way of safely showing you everything that’s going on around here but you’re seeing scenes like this like this street just completely washed out everywhere around town now Waterville is quite literally underwater parts of it the area has seen 14 to 18 Ines of rain some areas worse than others with flood water Knee Deep to hip deep but what’s been really cool to see is the terrific Community effort there’s an ongoing sandbagging effort over at the Waterville City shop dozens of volunteers there now and organizers say they’re still urgently in need of volunteers it was those volunteers that helped Tammy and Lonnie neighbors here secure their home just volunteers from the town and and from out of town and businesses coming from out of town and and just coming and helping and volunteering and and help sandbag you know half these people we didn’t even know and they were in kneep water helping us out so that was really appreciative so Lonnie and his wife Tammy say they just bought their house on this street in September but they’ve lived here their entire lives they’ve never seen anything quite like this and that’s actually been the word from several longtime residents here in Waterville again we have yet to see a National Guard presence here in town we do know that several lawmakers are touring flooded areas including Waterville back to you asme all right Barrett Leon reporting from Waterville thank you so much Barrett now right now Minnesota’s two US senators are in the city of Carver touring the levy area with the mayor and other city leaders the Main Street West Bridge is closed and there is a temporary extension of the levy along Spring Creek which drains into the Minnesota River you can see Senator Tina Smith and Senator clish are there the Senators will later head over to Waterville and meet up with congresswoman Angie Craig tonight overwhelming scenes from Waterville in southern Minnesota this is the area specifically named in a peacetime emergency declaration by Governor walls late last night we’ll have more on what that declaration means coming up shortly thanks for joining us tonight I’m Derek James you can see here where flood warnings are still in place across Minnesota and Western Wisconsin in Rice County Rivers Rose fast overnight flooding into neighborhoods in morrist toown Fabo Warsaw and other small communities wcco’s Kirsten Mitchell was there today as people raced to save their homes hey my phone’s going to blow up hey Todd Michelle vog you need another 40 bags put out a call for help on Facebook we need 40 more bags and the community we had people shoveling people filling people tying and people hauling showed up we’ve done over 3,000 bags today she owns the Channel Inn in Warsaw in my 35 years out here never seen the water this High they’re still dry but just across the bridge this is devastating to us dock stock Campground is underwater ahead of the busy 4th of July weekend over in this area right here that had just a few puddles in it yesterday morning and this is what we’re at today the last few visitors canoed at out to their campers to grab what they could as I have the best group of campers ever and they are more supportive than I could be for them hardly today because I’m just devastated over what has happened to them in farbo Dennis and Connie drentlaw took a ride around the neighborhood we spent all day dishing out water and throwing out furniture and ripping up carpet but when you drive around and and see what’s around us I I feel very fortunate they haven’t seen flooding like this in all their time living in the we just want to express that our hearts go out to the fairbow community yeah Waterville Morristown Warsaw it’s it’s um pretty widespread sad but yeah we’ll get through it oh yeah we’ll get through it Rice County officials really want people to stay out of the flood water and adhere to the road closures not only is that water moving very fast but it also could contain sewage toxic chemicals and other sharp objects reporting in Rice County Kira Mitchell WCCO news starting tomorrow morning at 7:30 Rice County residents can start dropping off flood contaminated materials at the County’s solid waste facility turning to the weather now and the dangerous flooding impacting millions of Americans in the midwest this video shows the devastation across South Dakota after days of rain caused rivers to overflow at least one person was killed evacuations were ordered in parts of Iowa after the heavy rains destroyed homes and swallowed Farm Fields Iowa’s Governor called the flooding in the state catastrophic Mayor Lee from uh CBS Minnesota is joining us now from of all places Waterville Minnesota I mean you can’t sort of escape the obvious irony um Jennifer how’s it looking out there I mean the water continues to rise here historic rainfall fell over the last few days and it led to catastrophic flooding washing out entire neighborhoods and you can see sandbags here around this home hoping to keep the water out be as it continues to rise and it’s not just here record setting rain record setting flooding inundated parts of Iowa and South Dakota here in Waterville parts of the city are underwater they said it’s only going to get worse and so we’re just bracing and hopefully it’s not going to get any worse than this a state of emergency remains where up to 18 in of rainf here the National Guard is expected to arrive today and help with the rising flood waters it’s ridiculous I don’t even know if there’s a word for it it’s just unbelievable parts of Iowa are underwater too drone video over Rock Valley shows only roofs and trees are visible from above there were 250 water rescues on Saturday alone I can tell you the devastation is severe and it’s widespread the state’s Governor issued a disaster declaration in 21 counties after more than a dozen Rivers flooded in the Northwest part of the state in almost every Community impacted the rivers crested several feet above record levels uh from the floods of 1993 in South Dakota at least one person was killed after heavy rains and flooding inundated the eastern part of the state flood waters there will continue to pose a threat across other parts of the Midwest severe weather spawns six tornadoes that struck Southern Wisconsin over the weekend in Argyle storms flattened the historic apple Grove Lutheran Church founded in 1893 and Minnesota Senators visited the area yesterday and said they’re working with the federal government to deliver more assistance to these hard-hit areas now the chance of more storms here remains low but other parts of the Midwest will remain on alert later today anarie so Jan I’m just sort of learning about Waterville I mean is this an area that typically floods when there’s a lot of rain or is this completely out of the ordinary for them I mean it does see flooding but this kind of flooding is out of the ordinary I was just talking with the fire chief and he said this is worse than the historic 1965 flooding saying it’s 23 in above that time and it’s worse than the flooding we saw a decade ago in 2014 um the water here they are worried that it continues to rise they have more sand bags coming in 70,000 filled and put out so far more people filling them today he tells me that this is just something that the community is worried about and also when we talk about flood insurance anarie uh in an area like this because it’s prone to flooding but not this bad he said very few people have it because it’s so expensive I talked to a homeowner here just across the street they said they do not have that flood insurance so sandbags more of them are even going up as that water continues to rise oh man and you know that’s a problem just clear across the country the issues with flood insurance uh Jennifer thank you very much that’s just a tin building behind it you can see and hear the power of the Blue Earth River Rising water levels led to the partial failure of the dam in the town of Rapidan this morning the water is washing way buildings and power lines next to the dam leading to power outages and dangerous debris in the water today we have a next weather alert as widespread flooding continues in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin an already tense situation in southern Minnesota could be reaching critical mass people there are worried about the future and some don’t know if they will be able to rebuild the town of Rapidan is southwest of the Twin Cities in Blue Earth County John lison shows us how people are now bracing themselves for the worst everyone John Lon back again here at in Blue Earth County right by the Rapidan Dam a very historic Dam it’s been here about 115 years but as you can see the Integrity of the dam is in Jeopardy all that debris due to flood waters here from the Blue Earth River pushed up against the dam that has caused the river itself to carve a niche around that western side of the dam and really right into that bank uh this morning there was a loud bang several loud bangs reported by people who live nearby uh is that part of the river as it carved that Niche out took out an XL Energy substation it took out a Blue Earth County shed it took out power poles it took out trees all that in the river now and throughout the day that rerouting of the river has carved itself into that bank you can see that home that’s kind of just hovering now at least the east side of the home hovering over the bank there that’s in trouble according to the Sheriff’s Department we caught up with people uh family members who have worked in that store and lived in that home for decades we never ever thought in a million years this would ever happen and here it is and we thank everybody for all the well wishes and all the text messages we’ve gotten over the course here and once again you can see just how fast and Powerful that blue Earth River the flood waters are rushing right through that side of the dam coming up tonight at 6:00 a little more from the sheriff on what they’re hoping here they hope this will crest tomorrow and that this uh River will start to subside but they can’t say that for sure we’ll also hear more from that family that’s lived in that home and run that business next door for 50 years here in Blue Earth County John lordson WCCO news the governor called in the National Guard to help residents in the small town of Waterville they’ve been battling high water for days it’s just about 70 Mi south of the Twin Cities as our team coverage continues Caroline shows us how residents are getting ready for more flooding to come Waterville remains underwater tonight residents trying to navigate parts of their community that look less like a town and more like a river I was back today some guys were decent enough to help me out with their John Boat and I got some my stuff out of there Michael hild debrand hitched an unlikely ride to check on his home feet deep with water everything’s underwater but yeah it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything like this many water residents woke up this morning and they looked out their front doors and they saw this streets completely washed out and they’re trying their best to keep that water from creeping up to their homes by lining the sidewalks and their property with the sandbags you see here Dennis Carrow is one of them his home he says represents his livelihood and he wants to protect it it’s unreal it’s devastating actually for me cuz I’ve never seen this in 20 years 44 Soldiers with the National Guard are on the ground monitoring pump stations like this to help keep the water moving as more rain could be coming so we’re trained for a variety of domestic operations uh flood fight operations is one of uh Sid Mission sets that we can take on but for people who call this home like hild debrandt they’re hoping for the best and they’re seeing the best in each other you know you can say what you like about you know small towns but everybody kind of rallies around you know brings out the best best everybody in Waterville Caroline Cummings WCCO news our next weather team coverage does not stop there right now businesses in Northfield are preparing for a potential Rush of flood waters to impact them wcco’s David Schuman is there with the latest David Amelia we are in the heart of downtown right on the Riverwalk which is mostly flooded all the way down in that direction and now if we come back this way let me show you what this business is having to do there are thousands of sandbags stacked up here and there’s a pump getting as much water as possible back over the flood wall into the river it still could be days too before the cannon River gets below flood stage coming to work Monday in Northfield for these men and women didn’t entail the usual financial planning for clients it was about continuing to minimize the water damage from a swollen Cannon River first thing we added the barrier of the sandbags um great Community effort probably over 100 people showed up to help I just feel for all the people and businesses that are here just what they’re going through and trying to keep their businesses safe the river crested Sunday night unofficially at a record high level and northfield’s police chief says he expects it to still be at flood stage through Friday and it was very helpful that the governor declared a a state of emergency for the entire State and so that freed up state and federal resources Sarah forner worked by the River Edge collecting samples for the Minnesota Pollution Control agency she’s the director of sustainability at Carlton College in Northfield and she and her students will measure the water for sediment and Clarity from a climate change perspective we’re having Amplified hydrology in Minnesota so a lot more um of these flood events than they used to happen in the past so um I think there were five 100-year floods in the last 15 years and this might be six the sheer might of this water and what it can do not lost on anyone who watches it just seeing it up against the bridge it kind of makes it a little bit more powerful to to see what nature can do it’s pretty incredible I mean it’s it’s the force of nature that we all are around all the time but you don’t appreciate it until it’s on top of you like this I spoke to the state representative for Northfield today and she told me there are some preliminary discussions of opening a special legislative session to release emergency relief funding Governor Tim wall said today he is open to that in Northfield David Schuman WCCO news thank you David high water is also impa in us here in the Metro and St Paul’s Shephard and Warner’s Road from Eagle Parkway to Highway 61 are closed the mighty Mississippi is creeping into Harriet Island that’s where we find our Barrett Leon Barrett how are things looking where you are hey Shayla it’s a bit soggy here in Harriet Island if you’re looking behind me you might think this is the Mississippi River it’s actually just flood water that’s seeped in to Harriet Island behind it you can see the Mississippi there and we know that things are expected to get worse the river has not crested yet but Public Works has been busy St Paul Emergency Management have been busy per preparing this area boarding up Herod and Pavilion closing off Trail heads roads and more now the Mississippi River is expected to Crest this weekend in St Paul and tipping this area into a major flood stage right now the capital city is dealing with moderate flooding with water sitting at 16 and A2 ft by Saturday it’s predicted to reach more than 20.7 ft here at Harry we saw people bit in off the high water many tell us they walk here regularly and it’s been surprising to see how quickly things have crept up I’m just trying to go on a walk down here and realizing that that’s not exactly an option it’s just crazy we went for me and my friend went for a walk 5 days ago and you could see you know we could park in this parking lot it’s replenishing the soil it’s replenishing aquifers it’s filling up our Rivers for sure [Music] these images show just how quickly the water is rising they were taken just two days apart we do know that at least three rides at Valley fa are closed for the rest of the week due to flooding and again both the mighty Mississippi and the Minnesota River aren’t expected to Crest until this weekend Shayla I just a sign of that significant impact our L owned reporting as River Crest in the coming days communities across Minnesota will be cleaning up our ubo Lee shows us the ways you can help for weeks Rivers have been raging from Waterville to cook parts of the state are dealing with devastating floods and residents are looking for Relief the best thing you can do for anyone that you run into that might be impacted for the flood is to let them know to call 211 so that they know the resources out in their communities Dorothy Maples leads the Salvation Army emergency disaster Services the biggest thing to remember for these communities is when you show up is to First be an ear never assume what somebody else needs ask she believes volunteering or donating money is the most effective way you can help right now on the ground about 25 Salvation Army volunteers are spread out across the state in St Louis County serving 400 meals a day in place places like fibo in the process of delivering what we call flood kits they are cleanup kits that for homeowners American Red Cross also Manning six shelters and a temporary evacuation point you can help these safe shelters by donating online at redcross.org or calling 1 1800 Red Cross as sandbagging continues in Waterville the city set up an account at France and Bank and Trust you can donate online or by mailing a check uba Ali WCCO news for more information and links on where to donate just head to wcco.com heads up for drivers heading to and from man a major closure in southern Minnesota involving Highway 169 due to flooding both directions are closed from lur to Highway 22 in St Peter also 169 from St Peter to mano is closed there are several detours involving Highway 99 County Road 13 and many more roads no timetable on how long this will last so plan accordingly today the threat of major flooding remains around many parts of the state as Rivers continue to rise here’s the latest the Blue Earth River continues to rage around the Rapidan Dam near Mano officials say the threat of the dam being breached has gone down however they’re still concerned because the dam was built on Sandstone Bedrock that can further erode the dam experienced a partial failure yesterday there is a levy system protecting the city and officials say they’re confident it will hold up the Army Corps of Engineers and federal officials are assessing the damage we have Team coverage for you this afternoon from some of the hard his areas including North Sous City South Dakota We Begin though with Barrett Leone in St Paul where the mighty Mississippi continues to rise a picnic table now a photo stop in St Paul so I’m just trying to go on a walk down here and realizing that that’s not exactly an option walking around the river might not be an option it’s a substantially from yesterday but with some detours Michael Austin still made his daily cycle happen I knew there was going to be flooding I knew the trails were flooded it just was a question of how deep St Paul City Crews have been busy blocking off roadways trails and sandbagging structures it’s bad but I think there’s a difference between bad and disastrous now this actually isn’t the Mississippi River behind me although it might look like it it’s actually just flood water that’s crept into Harriet Island here and this is only expected to get worse the river will raise another 4et by the time it crests on Saturday and it’s just crazy how much has risen in just 5 days so and it’s not the only park with high water in Shaka the Minnesota River is spilling into Valley Fair amusement park causing three rides to close Tuesday these photos taken just two days apart show its speed it’s we’ve had three years of drought this is definitely breaking that cycle still seeing flood waters up close is a surprise I come down here and it’s a whole different world in St Paul Barrett Leon WCCO news uh as you heard the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers have not crested yet experts do think that will happen this weekend just a short time ago Governor Tim Walls and senator Amy kashar flew over flooding in southern Minnesota the governor says they sought major damage in cities like Henderson lour and man but the worst may be in Waterville the human impact was certainly in Waterville many more homes the impact certainly feels pretty dramatic with up to the second floor and and I would estimate dozens and dozens of homes and certainly a lot of wet basements the governor says flooding is impacting at least 40 counties even further south of Minnesota the deor river has swamped cities along its banks our Derek James is in Jackson to see how locals are trying to stay afloat the West Fork of the De Moine river runs right through Jackson as you can see here dkes have been set up along the Springfield Parkway and Highway 71 which is a major road here in town as they expect that flood waters will continue to rise over the next day or so they say the worst is still to come a lot of dirt is being moved along the banks of the De Moine River in Jackson parts of this community of 3300 have been fighting flooding since Saturday dkes have been built to hold back fast moving Waters from the bridge over Highway 71 I was on it the other night it started actually overflowing coming over the top of the bridge this aerial video shows the scope of the damage to homes and businesses so far near The River’s Edge most of Jackson’s downtown has been protected the dkes have limited Flooding at American Legion Post 130 which took on several feet of water 55 years ago 1969 it was one brick up on the off of the sidewalk it was about a half inch to an inch of going in our doors on the main floor and our basement when you open the door it was on the landing the basement was full all the way to the rafters as Waters continue to rise residents continue to sandbag and pump water knowing they’re doing all they can soon as they knew they did everything they could between the city and the county and to make it work the de MO River here at Jackson currently stands at 15.7 FT it’s forecast to Crest at 6 16.2 sometime tomorrow night and then slowly recede out of flood stage sometime early next week in Jackson Derek James WCCO news it’s not just Minnesota record-breaking flooding is ravaging other parts of the Midwest as well a fast moving River brought down a railroad bridge near the Iowa South Dakota State Line AR Jonah Kaplan is in North Sous City South Dakota where cleanup is underway hi Frank and Amelia we’ve made it into South Dakota we’re in Union County in North Sous City and this is I29 right here this is what’s been shut down since Sunday 24 Mi of it and I want you to look here at the army of trucks uh sweepers front loaders dump trucks and they are not just trying to pick up all the mud and debris off the roadway but they’ve got to just clean every last bit of it because I mean think of it if you have mud on the highway people are going to be traveling 70 80 M an hour you can’t have any slick spots it has to be absolutely safe for traffic there are 20,000 cars that go back and forth every day on this important Corridor and coming up tonight on the CBS Evening News coming up soon at 5:30 we just got done talking to South Dakota governor Christy gnome and we also take you to a neighborhood that when you see the destruction it looks more like a hurricane or an earthquake than it does a flood Frank and Amilia back to you all right Jonah thank you as River Crest in the coming days communities across Minnesota will be clean cleaning up our U Lee shows us the ways you can help for weeks Rivers have been raging from Waterville to cook parts of the state are dealing with devastating floods and residents are looking for Relief the best thing you can do for anyone that you run into that might be impacted for the flood is to let them know to call 211 so that they know the resources out in their communities Dorothy Maples leads the Salvation Army emergency disaster services the biggest thing to remember for these communities is when you show up is to First be an ear never assume what somebody else needs ask she believes volunteering or donating money is the most effective way you can help right now on the ground about 25 Salvation Army volunteers are spread out across the state in St Louis County serving 400 meals a day in places like fibo in the process of delivering what we call flood kits are cleanup kit set for homeowners American Red Cross also Manning six shelters and a temporary evacuation point you can help these safe shelters by donating online at redcross.org or calling 1 1800 redcross as sandbagging continues in Waterville the city set up an account at francen Bank and Trust you can donate online or by mailing a check uba Ali WCCO news for more information and links on where to donate just head to WCCO a damaged Dam near Mano May survive the flooding but as R Chapman shows us the dangerous situation is not over yet the threat of the dam being breached has gone down according to the Blue Earth County Emergency Management the rapid and Dam has not actually been breach they say the structure is actually intact but it’s the Waters of the Blue Earth River that is eroding the slope the force of the water continues to flow along the new path that created on the west side of the dam people came from across the state to see what some call the creation of a new waterfall the experience to see what Mother Nature can actually do being that they didn’t see it before all of this and to see afterwards just what water and mother nature can do others looked on in amazement reminiscing about what the area looked like before the dam plugged up with debris sending water over it memories of that home and store now hanging close to the edge of the slope we grew up going there and getting pie I do a do a route get a Pepsi get a little ice cream um and used to go play in the river down there the river is still moving fast although officials say it has crested and beginning to recede Crews use a flow meter to measure the speed of the water all while keeping a watchful eye on the crowd concern now is safety of people that are too curious to be honest with you keeping people safe while they watch this Marvel of nature is priority number one officials do not believe the dam will give way endangering people in low-lying area below but they are concerned about the Sandstone Bedrock the dam is built on as it continues to erose now the question that has haunted this 114 year old Dam remains does it stay or does it go to take this thing out was like going to be $81 million to fix it would be like $15 million in BL County re Chapman WCCO news officials say if the dam did fail it would raise water levels around 2 feet which could flood some basement the Army Corps of Engineers is assessing the dam for damage by the weekend several Minnesota rivers are expected to reach dangerously high levels some might even break records predicting if and when that could happen is complicated how do you forecast flooding good question Jeff Wagner shows us the tools used to measure Rising Rivers Harriet Island Park in St Paul better resembles Lake Harriet at the moment as the Mississippi River swells past its banks more and more each day our forecast has it rising to 20.5 ft which is well above the major flood thresold of 17 ft sha dein is a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service what can make that 20 1/2t prediction change certainly uh how much rainfall we get between now and them could impact it we interviewed him Monday before more rainfall at night boosted that prediction closer to 21 ft how do you forecast flooding it’s quite a process that includes observational data analysis of how much rain has fallen or in the winter how much snow is on the ground and how much of that is going to melt and the liquid be moving through the system meteorologists analyze upcoming precipitation how much will fall and where lands they also take into account whether the soil is dry or saturated which right now is the latter given our extremely wet spring between all those things we’re able to kind of predict the flow of how much water is going to be flowing through the river at these places and then kind of convert that to a height that impacts the average person like how high is the river going to get then tools help them measure exactly how high the water gets like this river gauge along the Crow River it sends a beam down toward the water to calculate the height there’s also another type that that is at that same location called a a bubbler which is like it’s a line underneath the ground inserted under the middle of the river Channel and it uses pressure to tell how much water is above it how important is it to have such an accurate forecast I mean it’s extremely important that’s a lot of the cities and the counties are making decisions on roads to possibly close places to block off forecasting also helps communities get a jump start on filling sandbags building flood walls and evacuating buildings what’s easier to predict a flood stage or that storm coming a day or two away I’ve done both and they’re both incredibly difficult to predict I’m not going to say one’s easier than another really it’s just they’re very very complicated and predicting the future is never easy I think no matter what you’re trying to do with photojournalist Nick lunaman Jeff Wagner WCCO news a similar to forecasting storms D Vin did say that forecasting the height where a river will crest does get easier and more accurate the closer you actually get to that date across our state of 10,000 lakes theyve seem to turn into one giant I me case in point here this morning we’re going to show you the impacts of the historic flooding from All the Way North in St Louis County all the way down to mano and Fabo and every place in between where State leaders have spent the week surveying the massive amounts of Devastation and near the rapid and Dam which is along Blue Earth River that’s just south of Mano here new Drone footage shows us the moment that one home went underwater so people in the area they came out to watch last night that fast running River could see how long this White House right here could stand can see how the river it’s making its way around the dam so it’s eroding the ground beneath the house and it didn’t take long for that erosion to do its damage yeah right there I mean it happens so fast the White House gives in it tipped over the edge of the cliff as you watch it again here and then makes a big splash into the river we grew up going there and getting pie I do a do a route get a Pepsi get a little ice cream um and used to go play in the river down there yeah I mean lots of memories so the question remaining for this 114 year old dam is does it stay or does it go to take this thing out was like going to be $81 million to fix it would be like $15 million are optimistic the dam itself will hold if it doesn’t the Public Works director says it could cause big environmental problems they’re expected to tell us more about that how collapse later this morning meanwhile the Mississippi River near St Paul has risen to Major flood stage you can see parts of Harriet Island under water this morning officials say that the worst though is still yet to come Pauline Lee joining us live this morning from St Paul with a closer look at the rising Mississippi there Pauline yeah it’s just incredible right if you guys take a look behind me you see often to the distance that’s the Pavilion right there if you’re familiar with this area you know the Mississippi runs behind it not in front of of it all that water you see in front that is all flooding now at last checked earlier this morning the river has risen more than a foot from where it was this time yesterday morning National Water prediction service reports the river now at more than 17.6 ft High anything over 17 is considered major flood stage and the Mississippi is expected to rise another 4T or so potentially crusting sometime this weekend crews in the capital city now bracing for the full impact of the rising Waters as they block off more roads and trails and pile on those sandbags to more structures to help prevent the water from seeping in some people here say they were caught by surprise as to how fast the water has risen it’s just crazy we went for me and my friend went for a walk 5 days ago and you could see you know we could park in this parking lot we drove over here and it’s just crazy how much has risen in just 5 days now those Rising Waters means some businesses have had to make that tough decision to close temporarily coming up in about half an hour or so we’ll tell you who’s open who’s not and who’s trying to hang on guys yeah lots of good information Pauline Lee live in St Paul Pauline we’ll check with you a little bit later thank you well as Rivers continue to Crest Volunteers in Minnesota are answering the call stepping up to help and clean up on the ground about 70 25 Salvation Army volunteers are spread out across the state they are serving 400 meals every day up north in St Louis County and further south farbo the red American Red Cross is also Manning six shelters and a temporary evacu uation point for those who have been displaced the best thing you can do for anyone that you run into that might be impacted for the flood is to let them know to call 211 so that they know the resources out in their communities the biggest thing to remember for these communities is when you show up is to First be an ear never assume what somebody else needs ask now you can help these safe shelters by donating online at redcross.org or calling 1800 redcross in Waterville the city has set up an account at fron Bank and Trust you can donate online or you can mail a check there is some good news out of St Louis County up North this morning water levels continue to come down storms have caused devastating damage uh they did it the last week more than 1,500 damage points have been recorded throughout the county St Louis County Public Works Crews completed repairs that way they could reopen more than a dozen roads even as the county is still in a state of public emergency now the flooding is causing some health concerns and later today a meeting could help you determine if your water is contaminated Health officials say that if you have a groundwater well you should take preventative measures to make sure that your well isn’t broken and that the flood water doesn’t get inside they’ll also hold meetings to discuss nitrate levels in the drinking water now this is for well owners who are in southern Minnesota you can learn what the state is doing to try to address these health concerns the meeting is in Rushford it’s today from 4 to 8 there’s another one tomorrow in wasea that goes from 5 to 8 you can also bring samples of your drinking water to tested for nitrate