Borderland residents should feel blessed as they watch news reports about flooding and severe weather in southern Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest.
Clearly, no one wants to experience damage to docks and boathouses, nor watch as shorelines are eroded and damaged by rising waters.
However, no homes or businesses, as far as we know, are now being threatened in Borderland. But elsewhere, people are dying and homes and businesses are being damaged and crumbling into lakes and rivers.
A man was killed after his car plunged from a washed-out road into floodwaters in southern Minnesota on Thursday, the Freeborn County sheriff’s office said. One person was rescued from another vehicle swamped in the same area by the heavy rains that moved across the region Wednesday and early Thursday. The Cedar River and several creeks rose rapidly in the nearby city of Austin, where floodwaters closed a portion of Interstate 90 and home and business owners were sandbagging against rising water.
That kind of flooding should put Borderland’s concerns into perspective.
Area officials are preparing for worsening conditions. As of Monday, the Koochiching County Sheriff’s Office had 27,000 sandbags on hand and two piles of sand ready to be used to fill the bags. Sand is located at the county storage building near the water tower in International Falls and a pile is also located at City Beach in Ranier. And if needed, the Sheriff’s Office plans to have a third sand pile located at Tilson Landing.
Residents can get sand bags from the Sheriff’s Office to use to protect homes, but not to secure docks, officials said. Residents should use barrels and other heavy items for that purpose.
And, area officials warn boaters to be aware of items floating on lakes and rivers that have been washed from shorelines. In addition, boaters should avoid the Ranier Rapids, which could pose dangerous conditions.
Information about daily flow changes can be heard by calling 1-800-509-5253. Other data and reports are online at www.rivergages.com.
Mother Nature often challenges people. We hope sunshine and warmer weather are next on her agenda.