JULY 2, 2024:
Local governments and individuals affected by flooding in the southeast corner of South Dakota have until July 12, 2024, to submit their damage reports to the state Department of Public Safety’s Office of Emergency Management.
OEM has officially requested a joint preliminary damage assessment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to verify the extent of damages to public infrastructure and private households. Individuals are encouraged to submit their damage information– again, by July 12– using the online form available at sd.gov.
The state assessment will cover up to 30 counties and is scheduled to take place beginning the week of July 15.
Governor Kristi Noem says the results will be crucial in determining the need for a Presidential disaster declaration through FEMA. She says the state began providing assistance at the very beginning of this crisis, and we previously issued an emergency declaration to get the FEMA process started.
JUNE 26, 2024:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The devastation from floodwaters was coming into focus for residents and officials near McCook Lake in North Sioux City, South Dakota, as water receded after days of heavy rains around the Midwest. Union County Emergency Management said Tuesday (June 25, 2024) in a Facebook post that there was no water, sewer, gas or electrical service in that area. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem warned in a post on social platform X that people need to stay out of the area unless escorted by public safety officials while plans are made for people to try and retrieve belongings. The flooding has breached levees in Iowa, creating dangerous conditions that prompted evacuations. At least two deaths are being blamed on the storms.
JUNE 25, 2024, UPDATE:
At 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, state officials reopened the northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 29 from exit 2 to exit 26 in southeast South Dakota. Motorists are advised that while all lanes of traffic are open, there may be standing water along the shoulders of the roadway.
This past weekend both northbound and southbound lanes of I-29 were closed due to record high water from the Big Sioux River.
Motorists are also reminded that while I-29 has reopened, local roads and other state highways continue to be impacted by high water, clean-up efforts, and emergency response. The attached flood traffic plan map indicates locations that remain closed and roads that are open only to local traffic near exit 4 in North Sioux City. The map is also available at https://dot.sd.gov/travelers/travelers/flooding-information. As conditions change, local roads and on and off-ramps at exit 4 may require closure to facilitate response operations.
The public is asked to please stay away from these impacted areas to allow the response efforts to be completed safely. Motorists should not drive through rushing or standing water over roadways as the road may be washed out underneath.
Please visit https://sd511.org or download the SD511 mobile app to view all current road closures and highway obstructions.
JUNE 25, 2024:
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (AP) — More storms are possible in parts of the deluged Midwest, where flooding after days of heavy rains has killed at least two people, sent a river surging around a dam and forced evacuations and rescues.
Severe storms were forecast for Tuesday afternoon and evening (June 25, 2024) with large hail, damaging winds and even a brief tornado or two in parts of western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and storms are also possible in parts of South Dakota and Minnesota, the agency said.
Flooding in those states has also come during a vast and stubborn heat wave. Some communities hit by flooding were under an excessive heat warning Monday with temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius). Dangerous hot, muggy weather was expected again Tuesday around the Omaha area.
More than 3 million people live in areas touched by flooding, from Omaha, Nebraska, to St. Paul, Minnesota. Storms dumped huge amounts of rain from Thursday through Saturday, with as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) falling south of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service.
Places that didn’t get as much rain had to contend with the extra water moving downstream. Many streams, especially with additional rainfall, may not crest until later this week as the floodwaters slowly drain down a web of rivers to the Missouri and Mississippi. The Missouri will crest at Omaha on Thursday, said Kevin Low, a weather service hydrologist.
On Saturday, an Illinois man died while trying to drive around a barricade in Spencer, Iowa, Sioux City’s KTIV-TV reported Monday. The Little Sioux River swept his truck away, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said. Officials recovered his body Monday.
At least one person died in South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem said without providing details.
“I’ve never had to evacuate my house,” Hank Howley, a 71-year-old North Sioux City, South Dakota, resident said as she joined others on a levee of the swollen Big Sioux River, where a railroad bridge collapsed a day earlier. She did not have to evacuate in recent days either, but said: “We’re on the highest spot in town. But what good is that when the rest of the town is flooded? It makes me nervous.”
The bridge connected North Sioux City, South Dakota, with Sioux City, Iowa, and fell into the Big Sioux River around 11 p.m. Sunday, officials said. Images on local media showed a large span of the steel bridge partially underwater as floodwaters rushed over it.
There were no reports of injuries from the collapse. The bridge’s owner, BNSF Railway, had stopped operating it as a precaution during the flooding, spokesperson Kendall Sloan said. The railroad said the bridge was used by only a few trains per day and did not expect rerouting to have a significant impact.
The Big Sioux River stabilized Monday morning at around 45 feet, over 7 feet higher than the previous record, Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph said.
In North Sioux City, the South Dakota Department of Transportation built a berm Sunday night across Interstate 29 to stem flooding, temporarily blocking the major route. In other areas where the interstate remained open, water crept toward the road. Howley, who has lived there for 33 years, said she has a growing concern over more frequent severe flooding around I-29.
The flooding has damaged roads and bridges, closed or destroyed businesses, required hospitals and nursing homes to evacuate, and left cities without power or safe drinking water, the governors of Iowa and South Dakota said.
“I just keep thinking about all this stuff I’ve lost and maybe the little things I could recover that we put up high,” said Aiden Engelkes in the northwestern Iowa community of Spencer, which imposed curfews during flooding that surpassed a record set in 1953.
Over the weekend, teams from Iowa’s natural resources department evacuated families with children and a person using a wheelchair from flooded homes, director Kayla Lyon told reporters. Gov. Kim Reynolds said the department conducted 250 water rescues on Saturday.
“At one point we had 22 conservation officers doing water rescues, navigating some pretty nasty current,” Lyon said.
Outside Mankato, Minnesota, the local sheriff’s office said there was a “partial failure” of the western support structure for the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River after the dam became plugged with debris. Flowing water eroded the western bank.
Eric Weller, emergency management director for the Blue Earth County sheriff, said the bank would likely erode more, but he didn’t expect the concrete dam itself to fail. The two homes downstream were evacuated.
A 2019 Associated Press investigation into dams across the country found that the Rapidan Dam was in fair condition and there likely would be loss of property if it failed. A pair of 2021 studies said repairs would cost upwards of $15 million, and removal more than $80 million.
In Spencer, Engelkes still wasn’t able Monday to get back into his apartment on the first floor of a building close to the Des Moines River, nor could he go to work at a flooded chicken hatchery.
He spent more than seven hours Saturday in a friend’s fourth-floor apartment, waiting to be rescued by a boat, his Chevy SUV under roiling waters. Rescuers broke a window in a second-floor stairwell, and almost 70 people were taken away by boat in small groups.
Engelkes and his girlfriend left with a bag of clothes, three cats in a carrier, and a kitten his girlfriend carried in her shirt. Their apartment had about 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water. They’re now staying with his mother on higher ground.
About 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Spencer, in Rock Valley, Deb Kempema lost her home decor store, First Impressions, after a river levee broke.
It was “7,000 square feet of very pretty, pretty things. And it’s all gone,” she told KELO-TV.
President Joe Biden has been briefed by his homeland security team about the Iowa flooding, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had personnel on the ground there, the White House said.
JUNE 24, 2024:
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem held another news briefing in Dakota Dunes Monday morning (June 2, 2024) providing updated information about the extreme flooding happening in the southeastern corner of the state. Noem said there’s a lot of debris in the floodwater so people need to stay safe and keep their distance.
Noem said the Big Sioux River crested earlier than expected.
The Big Sioux, James and Vermillion rivers in South Dakota all eventually drain into the Missouri River. Because the Big Sioux crested higher and earlier than anticipated, Noem said that changes what they expect to happen in the Missouri River downstream from Gavins Point Dam at Yankton.
Noem has signed a disaster declaration (June 22, 2024), clearing the way for local and state officials to begin the process of applying for FEMA assistance.
Noem said the information they receive changes quickly and so does the response plan. She encouraged people to look at the South Dakota Department of Transportation social media platforms and SD511 for updated information.
JUNE 23, 2024:
At 6pm (CT) on Sunday, June 23, 2024, state officials are closing northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 29 from exit 2 to exit 9 in southeast South Dakota.
The Big Sioux River is predicted to crest around 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2024, and is expected to send a significant amount of water into low lying areas of southeast South Dakota.
A berm, or levee, is being built across both lanes of I-29 at exit 4. That protective structure will connect with an existing levee on the east side of North Sioux City.
Interstate Detour Routes:
- Southbound I-29 traffic will be detoured onto S.D. Highway 50 west at exit 26 to Vermillion, then south to South Dakota Highway 19 into Nebraska where it becomes N.E. Highway 15, then continue south to N.E. Highway 12 east in Nebraska to U.S Highway 20 east in Nebraska, then to exit 144 for I-29 south at South Sioux City, IA.
- Northbound I-29 traffic will exit onto Highway 20 west, then north on Highway 12 and Highway 15 in Nebraska, continuing onto Highway 19 in South Dakota to the Vermillion exit to Highway 50 eastbound to I-29.
At this time, local traffic will be allowed into the area until water reaches the roadway.
Detour maps are available on https://www.SD511.org or https://dot.sd.gov/travelers/travelers/flooding-information.
Motorists are urged to use caution when driving on state and local roads in southeast South Dakota for the next several days. Motorists should not drive through rushing or standing water over roadways as the road may be washed out underneath.
Please visit https://sd511.org or download the SD511 mobile app to view all current road closures, no travel advisories, and highway obstructions.
JUNE 21, 2024, UPDATE:
No travel advisories continue to be placed on all state highway sections in southeast South Dakota that are experiencing flooding due to heavy rain in the area. As conditions continue to deteriorate a majority of routes in the southeastern portion of the state have become impassable and travel impossible due to standing or flowing water across the roadways.
Interstate 29 remains blocked at exit 50 (Centerville) and exit 62 (Canton). An alternate route has been created in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to allow motorists to safely travel from Sioux Falls to Sioux City, IA and Sioux Falls to the S.D. Highway 48 junction north of Junction City. The alternate route diverts motorists in Sioux Falls to eastbound Interstate 90 to Worthington, MN, turning south on U.S. Highway 59, turning southwest on State Route 60 through Sheldon, IA, and continuing south on U.S. Highway 75 from Le Mars, IA to access Sioux City, IA. Motorists can also use Iowa State Highway 3 heading west out of Le Mars to access S.D. Highway 48 and I-29.
It’s highly recommended that motorists use the alternate route as other secondary highways in the area are impassable due to high water. In addition, many of the major streams/river elevations will continue to rise and are not anticipated to peak until this weekend or later.
A map of the alternate route as well as additional flooding traveler information can be found below this story or on the SDDOT website at https://dot.sd.gov/travelers/travelers/flooding-information. Travelers can also find road condition information for the State of Iowa at https://www.511ia.org/ and the State of Minnesota at https://511mn.org/.
Interstate 90 is currently open but is anticipated to close overnight as the weather system becomes stronger and rainfall increases. Areas on I-90 near Salem and Mt. Vernon are significantly impacted by flooding conditions.
Travel impacts are expected to increase overnight with a high likelihood of rain continuing through Saturday, June 22, 2024. Motorists can expect additional road closures to be put in place if conditions continue to worsen.
Motorists are reminded to respect all road closures and not drive around barricades. Motorists should not use secondary highways to avoid road closures or highway obstructions. Driving into floodwater areas can lead to potentially dangerous or life-threatening situations. Due to the expected length of this weather event, all motorists are asked to plan their travel accordingly and not travel in southeast South Dakota if possible.
Please visit https://sd511.org or download the SD511 mobile app to view all current road closures, no travel advisories, and highway obstructions. Conditions continue to change rapidly so it’s best to actively monitor SD511 traveler information systems. South Dakota Department of Transportation crews will continue to keep SD511 as up-to-date as possible during this weather event.
JUNE 21, 2024:
As of the morning of Friday, June 21, 2024, several state highways in southeast South Dakota are being impacted due to flooding rains that the area received overnight. Many highways in this portion of the state are currently closed due to the depth of standing or flowing water across the highway. Other routes impacted by flooding are open with the use of flaggers guiding motorists through sections of saturated roadway.
Rainy conditions are anticipated to last throughout the day and into the morning of Saturday, June 22, 2024, and are expected to extend the impacts of this weather system. Motorists can expect additional road closures to be put in place if conditions continue to worsen.
Motorists are reminded to respect all road closures and not drive around barricades. Driving into floodwater areas can lead to potentially dangerous or life-threatening situations.
Please visit https://sd511.org or download the SD511 mobile app to view all current road closures and highway obstructions.
