Neighbors gripped shovels and stuck them into a pile of sand in Waterville, where trucks and forklifts lined up to take them to people’s houses.
One of those houses is that of the Bombay family, who trudged through the knee-deep water and lined their property with sandbags Friday. With a similar situation quickly arising in Morristown and another sandbag operation in Faribault already underway, the situation appears dire. Additional rain is expected all weekend.
“Just this morning, I pulled in and this wasn’t here,” said one member of the Bombay family, who said they were too exhausted for a proper interview. “None of this was here an hour ago.”
Waterville resident Jon Snell said the flood is unprecedented.
“It broke the record already,” he said. “According to the river monitor, we’re already like 2.5 inches over the record.”
Away from the river, citizens were led by city employees at the sandbag operation. Travel down the highway for a bit, and Morristown faces the same issues.
“It’s never been up this high,” one Morristown woman said on a FaceTime call.
The famous Morristown Dam, which is where Morristown Dam Days gets its name, was the same height on both sides.
The self-serve station is at the Faribault Public Works Facility at 1200 Belview Avenue from 4-9 p.m. Friday. It will reopen Saturday at 7 a.m.
“The city is providing the sand and bags, and sandbag scoops will be available, but if you’re able and willing, bring a shovel,” Faribault Communications Director Brad Phenow said in a press release. “The city is not aware of streets being impacted by water as of now, but please drive cautiously as more rain is expected. As always, if you see barricades or ‘road closed’ signs, please do not proceed, these are in place for your safety.”
Rice County Emergency Preparedness Director Joe Johnson spent his entire day preparing emergency plans for Rice County. He urged people to sign up to EverBridge for emergency alerts, but said some emergency alerts might be sent to all phones in some areas.
“Don’t drive around barricades,” he said. “You never know what the road is like underneath. It could be washed out. Make sure you have a way to receive an alert, if there is some flash flooding: weather radio, cell phone, something like that. Don’t go swimming or drive through flood waters. If you do have a private well, there’ll be a link (on the county website) of mitigation steps you can take to protect that well from the flood waters, because that can cause a health risk if the floodwater gets into your private well.”
To sign up for EverBridge or check updates from the county, go to RiceCountyMN.gov/255/Emergency-Management online .
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