Oh, dam! Residents are on high alert as a Minnesota dam threatens to give way and flood the nearby area. The Rapidan Dam in Blue Earth County, Minnesota is in the process of failing. It's in imminent failure condition. Water levels continue to rise in the area.
According to the Blue Earth County Emergency Management, they've notified residents about the situation. However, they've not evacuated the area yet. "The Dam is currently intact and there is not an evacuation order in place for Blue Earth County residents," officials said. "The situation is being monitored closely by BEC Public Works, Emergency Management, and the Sheriff's Office."
According to FOX 9 in Minneapolis,the BEC currently doesn't know if the dam will totally fail or not. According to local authorities, water levels reached 28 feet at the dam. The levee system can only withstand a river up to 39.5 feet.
"According to Blue Earth County officials, if Rapidan Dam becomes compromised, they estimate that there would be up to a 2 ft. surge in the river level," the post read. "This remains a developing situation and the City of Mankato is confident the levee system will hold and there are no areas currently in the City of Mankato that are under evacuation orders."
Minnesota Dam Threatens Residents
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state emergency response officials also provided an update on the situation. According to Walz, officials have long questioned the structural integrity of the dam. The governor is closely monitoring the situation and how it is progressing.
"We are continuing to monitor the status of the dam with local officials," Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Kristi Rollwagen said. "We were made aware of the situation about 4 a.m. this morning. We're also looking at the communication cell towers in the area and working to get resources down there to support cellular communications. Right now, the integrity of the dam is intact, but we will continue to monitor it and be aware of what's going on."
However, weather may make things turn critical. According to the National Weather Service, there's a Flash Flood Warning for the county. At this time, it's a bit of a waiting game to see what ultimately happens.
