DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some residents along the swelling Upper Mississippi River evacuated their homes this week while others scrambled Wednesday to stack sandbags in preparation for what forecasters say could be near-record flooding caused by the rapid melting of a huge snowpack in northern Minnesota.
A small number of people had to leave their homes in Wisconsin as the river kept rising. In the small riverfront community of Buffalo, Iowa, residents — wary of the devastating floods of 2019 — were stockpiling sandbags as they braced for flooding this weekend and early next week.
In the city of Campbell, located on an island in the Mississippi and Black rivers near La Crosse, Wisconsin, Fire Chief Nate Melby said some residents had to use canoes to reach their homes. Melby estimated a half-dozen people have decided to evacuate after the rising waters forced emergency workers to cut power and gas to their homes. Emergency officials have not issued mandatory evacuation orders, though, he said.
“We’re putting up a good fight,” Melby said. “We’re hanging in there.”
Amy Werner, who lives on the northern tip of French Island, has been using six pumps to remove river water from a crawl space. Werner said it’s been a 24-hour-a-day battle, with friends and her parents taking turns monitoring the pumps during the nights.