Flooding leaves Minnesota dam in imminent failure condition after abutment partially fails

Southern Minnesota’s Rapidan Dam, located in the Blue Earth River near the town of Mankato, is in imminent failure condition due to flooding, according to Blue Earth County officials.

Furthermore, the Rapidan Dam went into service, producing hydroelectric power, in 1910, some 50 miles away from Minneapolis.

After receiving excessive precipitation, the Blue Earth River started flooding, and it was first reported by the Blue Earth County’s Sherriff office on Sunday the 23^rd of June that debris had started accumulating at the dam.

On Monday afternoon, the partial failure of the dam’s west abutment was announced by county officials, stating there were at the time no plans for mass evacuation.

However, a flash flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service, which is to remain in place until the morning of Tuesday, for downstream areas.

The situation has been closely monitored, while officials reported that monitoring of the County Road 33 Bridge and County Road 90 Bridge is also ongoing, and they may be closed if necessary.

It is expected that flooding of the river is going to peak on Tuesday, and on-site engineers predict that if the dam fails, river levels will rise between 6 inches and 2 feet at places.

No evacuation orders have been issued so far, and precautionary works have been put into place. More specifically, these include a 34.6-foot-high earth wall levee and fortification of several facilities with sandbags and barriers.

Flooding did not only occur in Minnesota, but also across parts of Iowa and South Dakota, where one person lost their life.