Rapidan Dam Store still in danger of falling into river, and more flooding headlines

A ballpark was purposefully flooded in Chaska to protect the city’s downtown area, an update on the Rapidan Dam situation and more flooding headlines Friday morning.

[@mooonpaw]

Say what you want, the engineers behind the Rapidan Dam knew wtf they were doing. Like, that thing refuses to move.

[@CountryAndProud]

​@@Bryan-Hensleythey definitely didn't plan for this...

[@CountryAndProud]

@@Bryan-Hensley they didnt install an emergency overflow... so they obviously didnt plan on it failing.

[@anthonyrowland9072]

I hope this isn't another "It was fine in 1966..." and maintenance kept getting caught up in cuts.

[@tokomok]

They clearly did not plan an emergency spillway that was concrete -- same issue at that CA dam Oroville, the emergency spillway was only earthen and once water started going over it then it started to cause erosion.

[@CountryAndProud]

@@tokomok but it was a planned emergency spillway... I didnt say concrete emergency spill way. The rapidan dam had 0 emergency spillway. Just look at the before pictures. Why would they out the power station in the path of the emergency spillway? Because it wasnt an emergency spillway nor was it planned to fail there. Just because it happened to fail somewhat safely doesn't mean its planned.

[@michellem4287]

It's INSANE that National News isn't talking about this catastrophic event!

[@rosalindalay4499]

They are abc news

[@RippieFarmer]

Minnesota isn't by any means the only state dealing with extreme weather and damages from storms. It is being covered by national news, I'm in California and heard about it as soon as the dam started failing, but there's hundred of weather stories to try and cover.

[@jaynehall8533]

Thank you for updating us, praying for everyone affected

[@twrourke6557]

I hope the store makes it, they make great pies in there.

[@SorobanWorld]

The lead story is not mentioned until two minutes in.

[@robertmorris8997]

That's called "burying the lead" and morons all over keep spelling it "lede" for some reason. Even spell check redlines it. as my Dad would say, "What is ya, ignert?"

[@charleswayne7221]

I feel so sad for those owners I've been to that store the owners are so nice! I hope they don't loose the store!

[@xlandros]

The amount of water that ballpark area could hold, would not “save the city”. Floodgates were opened to protect the berm. If water overtops it, it will erode very quickly, and be a very expensive repair.

[@gregknipe8772]

flooding the field saved the levy. that saved the city a lot of taxpayers money. stop nit picking, maybe go help someone in serious need, if they can tolerate ya.

[@marumiyuhime]

today is fkn friday lets get some new video

[@FordRangerClassics]

How did only one person just barely managed to catch the house falling in the river the entire nation was watching that thing

[@colindean8261]

The dude presenter said "Weather meteorologist"....OMG that's just so funny! That's called a tautology, where two terms are used to describe something and one is superfluous or redundant. It's like saying "food chef" or "military soldier" or "religion church" or "space galaxy". Where do they get these geniuses?

[@Tim_the_Enchanter]

TV is for pretty, not for smart.

[@HeartlandTuber]

Good Reporting!

[@1961Duane314]

What is the danger? The river cut a new course and the dam is no longer doing anything even if it crumbles now.

[@Asymmetrical-Saggin]

Lol.. wow.. Dense

[@jpdemer5]

The store is in danger. Other than that, it's a done deal. Best thing to do is stabilize the new left bank and let the dam sit there, doing nothing and costing nothing.

[@potblack6043]

The bank the river is cutting into, is in danger of back cutting upstream and is threatening the foundations of the highway bridge.

[@tokomok]

Well there USED to be hydroelectric generation from the dam. The powerhouse is ruined. If they want a dam there again all that space needs to be filled with a new dam basically. All for failing to cement a proper emergency spillway!

[@potblack6043]

@@tokomok That dam hasn't generated power since damage from a separate flood in 2019. Last April it got a rating of poor, with a significant hazard. Although the local public was against it, there was talk of removing the dam.

[@anonperson4597]

Did what they chose to do to save this ball field have anything to do with the home and land that washed away?

[@lindastevens6861]

Poor people They lost their home and their business Now it will be an act of god So the losses won’t be replaced😢

[@kushking949]

yeah no they have money

[@cincoy3679]

@@kushking949. Really. How do you know that. It’s not about God at all. They let that dam do this they know about it.

[@rbmeyers]

Flooding to almost tie a record from 1965 BCC (Before Cimate Change), 60 years ago. I was a junior at a St. Paul North Suburban High School that year and we members of the athletic departments volunteered for sandbag duty on the rivers. Good football workout!

[@snowmiaow]

Where did all the water come drom?

[@rosalindalay4499]

Prayers

[@thomastynan2900]

Can't some volunteer salvers pull some of those valuable houses back from the brink? If they are of historical value?

[@ryanmuir6338]

I doubt the remainder of the dam will fall into the river, water's not even flowing thru it's spillways anymore, it's all going around it. It will be removed by work crews since it no longer serves a purpose though

[@tokomok]

There WAS hydroelectric power being generated and that's all gone now

[@vickywhitesell7482]

Why not just take out the remaining dam??? The house could have been saved if the dam was gone or open a breach in the middle to divert the main current AWAY from the house! That house could have been SAVED!!!

[@idahopotato5837]

Could of blown the top of the dam...It will need to be rebuilt/replaced again anyways.

[@reilly_sharky_reese]

Once the erosion was within 10 feet of the house it was already condemned tbh. Even if the water evaporated the ground there was no longer stable and would have been continued to be eroded by wind and rain

[@2moosepie]

All soccer fields in Lasvegas are retention zones

[@snowman374th]

"A river runs through it"

[@Bill-sp8kb]

Yes, quite literally.

[@FoulPet]

One reason I won't own a home by a river. You should understand that flooding is a possibility.

[@rona4960]

Hard to do in Minnesota

[@FoulPet]

@rona4960 why's that? It's not listed as one of the top states with the most rivers

[@RDC_Autosports]

And the whole state is covered in rain today

[@maliq4746]

gaethje insane salute bro

[@ClydeElliott-yh4vn]

WOW 😢

[@richardjohnson2965]

You can’t stop water….it will eventually go where it wants to. I worked as a state trooper in the Shakopee - Chaska area back in the 90s….and flooding in the spring and early summer was a normal occurrence Hwy. 41 across the Minnesota River would be shut down, as it was under water…often for weeks. Nothing new here.

[@brunonikodemski2420]

I see trees stuck in and under some of the road bridges. Should not somebody be using a crane to get these out. More blockages essentially guarantee a bridge failure. No brainer.

[@danielberg7644]

We still are holding on hope that the Dam is still usable? Let it go. Time for a new dam.

[@ArnieD17]

Why would they build a new dam? The old dam stopped serving its purpose decades ago. The Rapidan Lake basically a widening of the river silted in decades back.

[@markschlief8565]

It blows my mind that no one is considering simply, blowing up what is left of dam. This would allow the river to move back into it's original path and limit further erosion. The dam is no providing any water control benefit at this point. The term "partial failure" is a joke, right?

[@afterlifewelcomesyoutofore2992]

It is a flood plain.

[@KrinkleBear]

Good thing your state loves taxes. They should have enough to fix this immediately, right?........right?

[@tomryannova]

vs what Fla, where they can't fix anything that gets destroyed?

[@melaniamonicacraciun9900]

Where is the famous John Wayne spirit? 😢😢😢 we were used to know that American solidarity is the biggest in the universe, helping up, all tractors and buldozers of the nation had to be there at this time helping up throwing in that leak so many sand bags untill the hole is closed, now that so much water went wasted, hurry up everybody, start doing something 😢😢😢. I was watching the other day someone filling sand bags of half tonne each, those marines kind of giant bags, trying to protect that erosion side it might be stopped that leak....who is willing to help up? Firefighters, farmers, do you mind to get involved? Marines or just construction workers.. yeah, the America of our dreams is only there on cinema screens 😢😢😢, what a shame guys

[@Myjesus-1]

Scary

[@sahkmatow]

⛈️

[@AngryChicKen-VIP]

really? That sucks...

[@Muonium1]

Officer Marge Gunderson: "So! Where'r you girls from?" "Chaska." "Le Sueuer." "But I went to high school in White Bear Lake.....Go Bears." Marge: "Ooookay. I want you to tell me what these fellows looked like." Literally the only thing I can ever think of when I hear about these places 🤣

[@bluekitty3731]

"The little guy was funny looking!"

[@Muonium1]

@@bluekitty3731 more'n most people even!

[@BryanReeves]

Water don’t give a damn!!

[@inerbeast]

2:22 You might hydroplane a little bit...

[@debbiebeck5826]

Smart.

[@JoeOvercoat]

if that damn doesn’t fail or isn’t removed the river is going to continue cutting a new channel.

[@lenux21]

Nature is trying to take back belongs to it

[@TheGoodReverendSatan]

It was a residence and fell it days ago

[@alancoker1459]

Why did they build a dam there anyway ? Theres a highway right behind it.

[@steveb6103]

The dam was there long before the road. The dam was built to provide electricity for Mankato.

[@captiannemo1587]

Highways were invented AFTER the Dam was built.

[@alancoker1459]

@@captiannemo1587 invented ???....you mean built ???

[@alancoker1459]

Hitler invented the highway system

[@larrymosher5045]

There are highways near dams across the country.

[@happycamper1372]

Considering they have changed the cause, yes, it’s still a problem.🤪

[@tomascarlsson1856]

Rapid bad mgmt

[@Jayman5281]

Enough… yeah, it’s not good. There are so many other important issues to cover. I think everyone knows that the damn failed. Move on already

[@tomryannova]

People gotta have their say. Us human, we just wanna be 'right' most of the time.

[@jamesbarca7229]

Seriously? They think that drop in the bucket is somehow going to "save downtown"? This just demonstrates once again, the intelligence level of your average government official. 😔

[@theboringchannel2027]

Another armchair engineer with an opinion based on zero facts or knowledge of the situation, who knows more than educated experts in the field.

[@MichaelDeHaven]

They very clearly stated it was to save repairing the levying around the field. If they let it breach, it would need to be repaired. This way the levy stays intact. Listen more carefully, OP.

[@jamesbarca7229]

@@MichaelDeHaven They very clearly stated, "Ballpark purposely flooded to protect downtown"... "They opened up the floodgates...that way the city could control the flooding, wouldn't get to that that taller levy..." Seems you're the one who should listen/read more carefully. 🙄

[@jamesbarca7229]

@@theboringchannel2027 I'm a former army engineer who has worked on flood control projects. I've probably forgotten more about the subject than you'll ever know.

[@MichaelDeHaven]

​​@@jamesbarca7229Yes, they gave the heights of the 2 levies. The second level was never in danger. Right after what you cite. They go to an official at 1:07 who clearly explains the same thing I said. "So when the water goes down. We don't have to fix the burn." Context is important in evaluating what is being said. If you feel something is ambiguous, it is always best to go with the most charitable answer. This is a basic premise of linguistic communication. Now you are free to criticize a news show for ambiguity. That would be reasonable. But that is subjective. But it wouldn't be unreasonable, given you failed to understand their message. So you'd have a point. BTW, where did your first text quote occur? I didn't catch it. I caught the second portion, but not the first. Do you have a time stamp?

[@NEEQOS]

George W’s fault.

[@GintingDosmal]

Akumulasi s buah keputusan dan pilihan hidup one piwer

[@AKSnowbat907]

"But all they shall receive is the sign of Jonah.." The eclipse was the sign of God. The sign of Jonah who was swallowed by a whale, is water.

[@p1dru2art]

Who cares about the baseball field

[@baoguochen8252]

8

[@dallasdavis3246]

lack of keeping the gates clear of debris is why it went badly when city council thinks pride parades should be funded but not the dam

[@jpdemer5]

Gates went from clear to clogged in about 20 minutes, so there's not much that could have been done.

[@krustymadrid4953]

you have no idea what it takes to remove trees smashed against a dam while the river is flowing at that rate and volume. This has nothing at all to do with funding

[@cincoy3679]

They should have cleaned the areas downstream from the dam. This would have never happened

[@dot1shots61]

@@cincoy3679do you have a plan for that possibility, send it to them, it’s to late now, but maybe for the next 100 years flood they could try your suggestion 😂

[@krustymadrid4953]

@@cincoy3679 I think you meant upstream, but then again you have no clue

[@steveconnolly7129]

More loss

[@maliq4746]

hahahahahahh anderson deserve it hahahahaha become cocky silva

[@redwhiteblue7166]

REMAIN CALM!!!!! JOE BIDEN DOESN'T CARE!!!!!!

[@ginog5037]

No maintenance, just like New Orleans. Keep voting liberal folks that seems to be working....

[@rona4960]

If stupid hurt, you'd be writhing in pain

[@tomryannova]

@@rona4960 lolz

[@A.C.00]

See for landscapes to change this proves it doesn't take millions of years. Just God's will and 💥. But evolution.🤭

[@vashlotus1891]

That field is gone..... This is just lies to save face.

[@coldblade666]

I lived in Chaska for a few years, it flooded just like this back in 2010-2011 as well, the baseball field was just fine. But they keep dragging their feet on raising Highway 41 that leads in/out of Chaska, it floods almost every spring.

[@MichaelDeHaven]

They very clearly stated it was to save repairing the levying around the field. If they let it breach, it would need to be repaired. This way the levy stays intact. They would have had to do work on the field for flooding either way. But this way it's controlled and less damaging compared to a sudden breach of a levy.

[@vashlotus1891]

@MichaelDeHaven I'm looking at it from a horticulture background. The sheer amount of weight from the water is compacting the ground, removing all air. Nothing except anaerobic bacteria can live in that. Once the water goes, it will take some time as the ground has reached complete saturation. The topsoil is now trash. The grass will need to be replaced if they want a proper field. The types of grass used for sports are far more expensive than lawn grass. Why build something expensive in a place that can be flooded?

[@MichaelDeHaven]

@@vashlotus1891Very interesting! I'm nowhere near as versed in soil health as you. As for why build there. Don't know the answer to that. I'm guessing cheap real estate prices due to flood risk. It seems common(to build sport fields near rivers) in my experience though. Maybe it's simply cheaper to do repairs than build a higher levy to fully protect it. I'm genuinely curious myself. But thanks for the information.

[@dayeah765caoni3]

Collapsing empire lol

[@tomasneel1980]

Humbly and kindly, but in a solemn manner, I know You’d do more for climate change returning back to the Lord God Almighty , attending Church on Sunday than anything else. Sunday is a Holy Day and first day of the week, , not a holiday to celebrate and party . That’s backwards. Even Mother Earth is screaming for a day off, God didn’t design it to go full speed , 24/7 all week/year long. Best wishes.