Southeastern Minnesota communities brace for top five record floods

In Wabasha, Minn., flood waters from the Mississippi River have been creeping into yards and basements, damaging homes. While the river is expected to crest there Tuesday at 17.2 feet, the city of 2,500 will have to deal with flood waters for several days.

"It's a mess," Mayor Emily Durand said. "It's no fun."

Communities along the Mississippi are watching and waiting as the river crests in southeastern Minnesota throughout the week, even as flood waters recede elsewhere in the state. The Mississippi is expected to be at its highest since 2001; chances are high for top five record flood levels throughout the southeastern part of the state.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts the Mississippi will recede from major flood stage by next week, though rain in the forecast this weekend is expected to prolong flooding in some areas. The river likely won't return to its banks until mid-May, barring more rainfall.

"We're kind of expecting a slow and steady recession," NWS hydrologist Jordan Wendt said.

Flood infrastructure has kept the rising waters from damaging most cities, but low-lying roads, marinas and campgrounds have been closed for more than a week.

In Lake City, residents along Central Point Road were advised to seek shelter elsewhere after the city shut off utilities to the area last week — many of the nearby homes are on stilts overlooking the river. In addition, marinas are closed as city officials wait to clean up once the waters recede.

"There's no fishing down this area for a little while," Lake City Emergency Management Director John Yorde said.

Some people are fishing close to the river, however. Ben Klinger, Winona County's emergency management director, said he saw people at the Prairie Island Campground fishing Sunday, even though the campground is closed.

Winona isn't expecting too much damage from flooding — homes on the wrong side of the levee near the city are built with flooding in mind, either on stilts or with basements that are expected to flood. Klinger said pump stations along the river are working as expected and city workers have patrolled the levee over the past week.

"Right now, the levee's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing," he said. "Currently, we don't have any concerns."

The Mississippi in Lake City is expected to crest Tuesday and Wednesday at about 19.5 feet, just shy of major flood levels.

That's not the case for other river communities. The Mississippi at Winona is expected to crest Tuesday at 19.2 feet — the fourth-highest crest on record — where it will stay for several days before receding late Thursday.

If the Mississippi stops at 17.2 feet at Wabasha, it will be the fourth-highest flood on record in the area, beating out records set in 1952 and 1997. The record crest was set in 1965 at just over 20 feet.

Wabasha officials are already tracking homeowners affected by flooding in low-lying areas. The city expects to meet with county officials Tuesday to prepare to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on flood relief.

Wabasha's mayor said onlookers have tried to drive past barriers to grab photos of the flood, which city officials are discouraging.

"There will be plenty of photos on Facebook and on the news," Durand said. "We really want people to stay safe and respect those road closures."

City officials in communities along the river expect cleanup to take weeks as workers pick up debris from campgrounds, parks, beaches and marinas.

"It just sets back all the preparations for spring and summer that are already hard to accomplish," Durand said.