After declaring the dam in "imminent failure condition " on Monday, county officials on Wednesday said "dramatic changes overnight" included "a wider and deeper" channel of surging water overwhelming the dam's partially failed west abutment.
"There is currently little to no flow through the gates of the dam as the majority of the flow is going around the west side of the dam, officials said.
House crumbles into river, succumbing to severe flooding around dam AW AERIAL / REUTERS
The Blue Earth County publics works and emergency management departments and sheriff’s office continue to monitor the situation for downstream impacts, officials said. So far, there had been no mass evacuation. "Although the waterflow has slowed slightly, the water is still flowing as a rate that inhibits emergency mitigation strategies," officials said.
Flooding could worsen in Minnesota, Iowa with thunderstorms this week
Flood warnings remained active Wednesday for several rivers in Minnesota including the Minnesota River – the Blue Earth River is a tributary – and the Mississippi River, and, to the east, the Wisconsin River, according to the National Weather Service .
Flooding threats will likely remain with the risk of severe thunderstorms across parts of the Northern and Central Plains on Thursday and Friday, the NWS said .
With more rain also forecast for early next week, water levels could go higher than projected, according to AccuWeather . "Minor flooding may escalate to moderate flooding in some areas, while moderate flooding may increase to major flooding," the weather site reported Wednesday.
Minnesota weather watches and warnings
Contributing: John Bacon and Gabe Hauari. Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider .
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