A swaying home on the banks of the flooded Blue Earth River near Rapidan Dam in Minnesota collapses into the water, video shows

DES MOINES, Iowa — A house teetering on the edge of an eroding riverbank near a Minnesota dam collapsed into the river, the latest striking example of extreme weather hitting the upper Midwest.

Video shows the white frame house falling into the flood-swollen Blue Earth River near Mankato Tuesday evening. The west abutment of Rapidan Dam failed Monday, sending the river around the dam and eroding the bank where the house stood. The family had evacuated before the collapse.

“It’s been a very scary and difficult situation,” Jenny Barnes, whose family owned the home and ran the nearby Dam Store before the house fell into the river, told KARE-TV Tuesday. She was also worried about the store.

“It's our life too. It's our business, it's our livelihood. It's everything to us,” Barnes said. “There's no stopping him. He'll go wherever he wants. He'll take what he wants.”

Jessica Keech and her 11-year-old son saw part of the house fall into the river Tuesday evening. They had visited the area often to see the dam and enjoy homemade pie from the Dam Store.

“He just sucked it into the water. It literally disappeared,” said Keech, of nearby New Ulm. “You didn't see it coming down the river at all. You didn't see pieces of it anywhere.”

MORE: Deadly floods cause partial collapse of dam in Minnesota

Blue Earth County officials said Wednesday that there were dramatic changes around the dam overnight, with the river moving wider and deeper into the bank, and they are concerned about the integrity of the dam. a nearby bridge spanning the river. Once the flooding subsides, the county will have to decide whether to repair the dam or possibly remove it — both options costing millions of dollars.

County Administrator Robert Meyer said debris that has flowed into the river since Monday includes not only the house and its fence, but also an electrical substation, utility poles, a propane tank, county playground equipment, satellite restrooms, dumpster and steel hauling. container used for storage and “many, many trees.”

“There is no attempt to save anything,” Meyer said during a news conference at the dam.

President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to discuss impacts to Rapidan Dam and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is already on the ground, House officials said White.

Parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota have been besieged by flooding from torrential rains since last week, while also suffering from a scorching heat wave. Up to 46 centimeters of rain fell in some areas, pushing some rivers to record levels. Hundreds of people were rescued, homes were damaged and at least two people died after driving into flooded areas.

Warnings of tornadoes, flash flooding and large hail Tuesday night added insult to injury for some Midwesterners. The National Weather Service said several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Nebraska. The service was assessing damage to some buildings, crops and trees to confirm whether tornadoes had touched down. No major injuries were reported.

The weather service also extended flood warnings to several area rivers. Floodwaters breached levees in Iowa on Tuesday, creating dangerous conditions that prompted evacuations.

Preliminary information from the weather service shows that recent flooding has caused record river levels in more than a dozen locations in South Dakota and Iowa, exceeding previous peaks by an average of about 3.5 feet (0.5 meters).

In southeastern South Dakota, residents of Canton were cleaning up after receiving 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 centimeters) of rain in just 36 hours last week. A creek next to the 20 acres owned by Lori Lems and her husband flooded the playground they had built in their backyard for their grandchildren.

Lems, 62, a former convenience store and wedding hall owner, said she has lived in this town of 3,200 her entire life and has never seen rain as intense as that of last week.

“It felt like we were in hurricane-type rain,” she said. “It was just incredible.”

Farther south, in North Sioux City, South Dakota, flooding downed power poles and trees, and some homes were swept away. There was no water, sewer, gas or electricity service in that area, Union County Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

In the Sioux City, Iowa, area, water poured over the Big Sioux River levee, damaging hundreds of homes, officials estimated. And the local sewage treatment plant has been so overwhelmed by floodwaters that officials say they have to dump about a million gallons (3.8 million liters) of untreated sewage into the water every day. the Missouri River.

Many roads were closed due to flooding, including Interstates 29 and 680 in Iowa, near the Nebraska line.

East of Iowa, towns prepared for floodwaters. The West Fork of the Des Moines River is expected to crest near 17 feet (5 meters) in Humboldt overnight Thursday. About 200 homes and 60 businesses in Humboldt could be affected, and about 68,000 sandbags have been deployed, authorities said.

In the coming days, southeastern Nebraska and northwest Missouri are expected to begin to feel the downstream effects of devastating flooding in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. Many streams and rivers may not peak until later this week. Missouri will peak in Omaha on Thursday, said Kevin Low, a weather service hydrologist.