Minnesota weather: Mankato homes, streets deal with flooding after Friday rains

MANKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) - Heavy rains flooded streets, parking lots and ramps in Mankato this week, and as of Saturday, city leaders said they’d received 19 reports of homes with flooded basements.

"Once it started pooling up outside around the house, all of a sudden It was disappearing, coming in the house in the basement," Allen Meyer of Mankato told FOX 9. "It rained so much the sump pump just couldn’t keep up."

The floodwaters destroyed carpets, rugs and furniture in many basements. Water logged items were then dropped off at a city debris collection site throughout the weekend.

According to Mankato Public Works Director Jeff Johnson, the city saw more than 6 inches of rain in 24 hours.

"Streets just instantly became rivers from curb to curb, and they became very difficult to navigate," Johnson told FOX 9. "We have four out of five major pumping stations for our flood control and levy system operating right now."

Now, the Minnesota River – filled with debris – is rushing at around 12 miles per hour.

The river continues to rise, and is expected to crest at 28 feet by Monday morning at 7 a.m.

Meanwhile, other towns in southern Minnesota were swamped by more than 8 inches of rain over 72 hours.