Part of a Minnesota home has plunged into the Blue Earth River as deadly Midwest flooding threatens nearby Rapidan Dam.

CNN
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Part of a house perched on the banks of Minnesota's Blue Earth River collapsed into raging waters as deadly floods that hit the Midwest threatened the nearby Rapidan Dam, built in the early 1900s .

“A portion of the home located on the property closest to the Rapidan Dam was dug out enough to fall into the river,” Blue Earth County authorities said in a Facebook post Tuesday evening.

At least two people have died after days of severe storms and catastrophic flooding across the Upper Midwest, flooding homes and forced evacuations. Rapidan Dam near the city of Mankato was in a “state of imminent failure,” Blue Earth County government said Monday. The dam was still standing Wednesday morning.

Assessment and response efforts are underway as the area has suffered significant damage and loss of infrastructure and property, authorities announced Wednesday. Due to the partial outage and raging waters, the river swallowed a home, an electrical substation and utility poles, a steel shipping container, county equipment and more, the administrator said of Blue Earth County, Robert Meyer.

Authorities are monitoring downstream activity to ensure there is no further damage, Meyer said Wednesday. They are concerned that erosion could impact the pier supporting the County Road 9 bridge, affecting the structural integrity of the bridge. The county “will explore mitigation options to ensure the bridge remains as well as the dam,” Meyer said.

“When we look at the house that was on the cliffside and the erosion of the hillside, I think it shows how incredibly powerful this water is,” John Cunningham, deputy commissioner of the Department of Conservation, said Wednesday. Public security. press conference. “It reminds us how important it is to stay away from any moving water.”

The stricken riverfront home is owned by the family of Jenny Barnes, who has also owned the nearby Dam Store for 50 years, CNN affiliate WCCO reported. “It’s very close to home. We had to evacuate this morning, get out as much as possible. All the freezers and stuff,” Barnes told WCCO Monday. “It’s my childhood. I grew up in the house, I grew up in the Dam Store. I've been there all my life.

It was “inevitable” that the family would lose their home to dangerous flooding, Barnes told CNN affiliate KARE. The family has suffered “enormous loss and devastation,” family spokesperson Louise Henderson said at a news conference Wednesday.

The Dam Store, known for its homemade pies, has been in business since 1910 and has been owned by the Barnes family since 1972.

“It’s our life too. It's our business; it’s our livelihood. This is it for us,” Barnes told KARE. “There’s no stopping it. He will go wherever he wants. He'll take what he wants. And everyone prays that it doesn't take the Dam Store.

As of Wednesday, no water was flowing through the dam because most of the water was bypassing the west side of the dam, Meyer said at a news conference.

Minnesota authorities urged people to stay away from the water.

“Having been in water rescue my whole life, these conditions are some of the most difficult I have ever seen,” Cunningham said.

Water levels peaked at 29.7 feet and have remained steady for about 24 hours, Mankato City Manager Susan Arntz said Wednesday. Officials expect the river to recede to about 25.5 feet by Friday.

“Water is a powerful force,” said Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. “I think climate change is real and we are experiencing the impacts of it here in Minnesota, across the state.”

Flanagan said policymakers in the region must focus on building climate-resilient communities.

Rapidan Dam has been in an “advanced state of disrepair” for years, according to a 2021 study.

“We do not know if this will fail completely or remain in place, however, we have determined that it is necessary to issue this notification to inform downstream residents and the appropriate regulatory and other local agencies,” the county said Monday. No mass evacuations are planned, officials said Tuesday.

The Blue Earth River cut through the west side of the dam, carrying debris and causing power outages, the county said Monday, noting there was a “partial failure on the west abutment.”

Water flow at the dam peaked Monday and decreased slightly Tuesday, according to a news release from Blue Earth County emergency management officials. Officials continue to monitor the dam and downstream impacts.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said dozens of homes in the Le Sueur County town of Waterville were flooded up to the second floor.

Rapidan Dam, completed in 1910, is owned by the county and is capable of producing 6 million watts of hydroelectric power. It's about 70 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

Dams can fail for a number of reasons, including overtopping due to flooding and structural failure, according to FEMA.

A 2021 report from Blue Earth County noted that regular flooding over the years, as well as the “toll of time,” caused significant damage to the dam. The report identifies two solutions: repair or remove the dam. The county emphasized that both options carry significant costs.

As officials continue to monitor the Minnesota dam, communities across the Midwest face the aftermath of devastating flooding.

A man in his 60s died Saturday in Clay County, Iowa, while trying to wade through fast-moving floodwaters, according to a spokesperson for the county sheriff's office. The same day, an 87-year-old man died in a flood-related crash in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, according to the state Highway Patrol.

President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for parts of Iowa, where a levee failure Tuesday morning on the Little Sioux River prompted the evacuation of communities.

The town of Rodney was evacuated and the town of Correctionville was closed to non-residents, according to authorities. A flash flood warning was issued for Rodney, the neighboring town of Smithland and other rural areas near the river, officials said Tuesday.

In South Dakota, water rescue efforts were underway Tuesday afternoon in Sioux City, where the Big Sioux River crested at 45 feet — 7.3 feet above record levels — prompting homes along the river to be evacuated Monday.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said one neighborhood in particular, McCook Lake, was in a “very dangerous situation.” Entire houses fell” into Lake McCook, Noem said.

The neighborhood has uprooted trees, live power lines crossing roads and 100-foot drop-offs in places where roads have been washed away, the governor said, urging residents to stay away from the area .

The intense rains that caused flooding in the Midwest have stopped, although light rain is expected to return to some areas on Thursday.

This story has been updated with additional information.