St. Clair became the latest south-central Minnesota town to warn of rising waters and put out a call for help Sunday morning, even as the National Guard was being mobilized to assist Waterville.
“Residents: The river is anticipated to keep rising for around 24-48 hours,” city staff posted on the St. Clair Facebook page at about 8 a.m. “And there is ALOT of water to flow through still.”
That followed a call for volunteers earlier in the morning, targeted at assisting sandbagging efforts by owners of flood-vulnerable homes near the Le Sueur River. It was just Saturday night that the city, with a less ominous post, announced it had placed a pile of sand at the end of Fitzloff Avenue for any residents hoping to protect their home with sand bags.
An even larger sandbagging effort was continuing in Waterville, prompting the Le Sueur County sheriff to request logistics and operations support from the National Guard.
Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime state of emergency Saturday night and authorized the assistance.
Guard members were prepared to mobilize as early as Sunday, according to the announcement from the governor’s office stated: “In Le Sueur County, the City of Waterville and surrounding community have experienced approximately 14-18 inches of rainfall. In lakes Tetonka and Sakatah, and the Cannon River, water has reached uncontrollable levels. Residents have been evacuated and the flood has already caused significant damage.”
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