A Minnesota family living on the edge of a failing dam fears the worst as they recall the startling moment they had to flee their decades-old home.
The Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River is in an ‘imminent state of failure’ after severe flooding due to abnormally high rainfall.
Aerial footage shows the Rapidan Dam Store teetering on the edge of the river as floodwaters flow through the eroded earth.
The owners of the store, known for its homemade pies, dreaded this moment.
‘There’s no stopping it anymore. It will go where it wants to go. It will take what it wants to take. And everyone is praying that The Dam Store is not needed,” owner Jenny Barnes said KARE.
Aerial footage shows the Rapidan Dam Store teetering on the edge of the river as floodwaters flow through the eroded earth
Citizens in low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley have been told to evacuate — as officials continue to monitor whether the 114-year-old dam will completely collapse
The store has been open since 1910 and has been owned by the Barnes family since 1972. Her father still lives in the family business.
‘That’s our life too. That’s our business; that is our livelihood. It’s everything to us,” Barnes told Fox 9.
‘It will happen. We don’t know when, but inevitably the house will go.’
Barnes recalled the moment she heard loud bangs and saw flashes of light at 2 a.m. Monday and knew it was time for her family to evacuate.
“We had to evacuate this morning and get as much out as possible,” she said WCCO.
The explosion Barnes witnessed was the Xcel Energy substation, located near the dam that was actually washed away.
Debris started accumulating there on Sunday after unusually heavy rainfall. It left the century-old dam “in a threatened condition,” officials said.
By 10:36 a.m. Monday, the river had eroded the earth around the west side of the dam near the south side of Mankato to the point where water was pouring over the concrete, now endangering the city of 45,140.
Rapidan Dam Store owner Jenny Barnes (pictured) recalled the moment she heard loud bangs and saw flashes of light at 2 a.m. Monday and knew it was time for her family to evacuate
The house where Barnes’ father still lives is at risk of being swept away by floods after abnormally high rainfall caused the dam to go into ‘imminent failure’.
In an alert issued Monday as images showed parts of the dam in ruins, Blue Earth County Emergency Management stated: “We do not know if the dam will fail completely or if it will remain in place.
“However,” the agency added, “we determined that it was necessary to issue this notice to advise downstream residents and the appropriate regulatory authorities and other local agencies.”
Meanwhile, debris dislodged by the water flow continues to flow downstream as power outages have also been reported in surrounding areas.
Pieces of provincial infrastructure are among the debris currently being sent downstream, officials said
In their own statement, the National Weather Service described how the failure will cause the portion of the river that cuts through Mankato to fall just below major flood status Tuesday morning.
Citizens in low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley have now been told to evacuate — as officials continue to monitor whether the Rapidan Dam will fully yield.
An Xcel Energy substation was reduced to rubble and washed away by the flood
Twenty other cities — like Fairmont — are also in the flash flood radius, as water has already washed away much of the dam, raising questions about its structural integrity for years.
Gov. Tim Walz and state emergency officials cited this type of research when issuing their own statement Monday morning, saying nearby roads are at risk of flooding.
“I know the structural integrity of the dam has been a question for a long time,” Governor Walz said of the longstanding structure, built in 1910 by the Ambersen Hydraulic Construction Company.
The Rapidan Dam was built between 1908 and 1910. It is 24 meters high and 145 meters long and is made entirely of concrete.
Officials are currently implementing the opening phases outlined in the Rapidan Dam Emergency Action Plan, a guidance document that outlines how to respond to such a failure and how to help potentially affected people who are on the back burner.