Blue Earth County, Minnesota – The Rapidan Dam in Mankato, Minnesota is being closely monitored as failure seems imminent.  All cities and towns down stream from the dam have been notified of impending evacuation.  As debris continues to pile up against the dam, the Blue Earth River has changed course on the west side of the dam.

According to a Facebook post by Mankato Police and Fire, the water level at the dam was 28 feet. The levee system is built to withstand a river capacity up to 39.5 feet.

“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.”

A Flash Flood warning was in effect until 4:30pm yesterday (Monday).

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