Minnesota mom battling historic flood says others 'couldn't do the fight anymore'

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Waterville, Minnesota resident describes historic flooding conditions

Lyndsay Carlson, of Waterville, joins FOX Weather to talk about the flooding conditions. She said they are able to travel to and from their home using a duck boat after the Cannon River crested over the weekend. 

WATERVILLE, Minn. – Lindsay Carlson has been forced to wear waders in her backyard after a historic flood surrounded her home and filled the basement with water.

"It's streaming through our house," Carlson said about the Cannon River that overflowed its banks. "We are lucky. Some people don't have the same support."

She talked to FOX Weather on Monday and showed off the sandbag wall that she said has whethered the flood well so far. 

South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa have received 5-18 inches of rain that triggered massive and deadly flooding. Minnesota's governor declared a peacetime emergency and called in the National Guard, while Iowa declared a major disaster.

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Homes surrounded by water

While the house looked pretty good during the interview Monday, it was a tough battle against the water the night before. She said her family hardly sleeps worrying about a breach that could destroy the home they've lived in since 2017 and all their belongings. She said the pumps have stopped working.

"Not even 2 minutes after I convinced (husband) Chad to get some rest last night, our wall of sandbags caved in on one side," she said. "Our pumps got waterlogged, and we got 2 feet of water in our basement."

Officials have already alerted residents that the flood water running into homes is contaminated with sewage.

"But man, it was awesome," Carlson said, while explaining why she considers herself lucky. "We called like 10 people, and they brought an army, and we were working until 2:00 in the morning, staying up all night watching it, so we were able to get all the water out."

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The "army" helping Carlson's family repair the sandbag wall and basement pumps until 2 a.m.

(Lyndsay Carlson  / FOX Weather)

Getting the army into the neighborhood wasn't easy either, authorities have all the roads blocked.

"Thankfully, we were able to get some family and friends allowed into town to help us," she said. 

For many of her neighbors, the flood is winning though.

"We have kind of a community chat, and people are messaging in there, ‘Hey, we need sandbags desperately.’ But, the sad part is, a lot of people, they couldn't do the fight anymore," Carlson said. 

"They gave up. So a lot of people don't need sandbags anymore. I know last night somebody was desperately asking for sandbags," she continued. "And then, you know, the next message was, 'We lost it at 4:30 in the morning.' So it's really sad." 

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Flooded homes in Waterville.

(Lyndsay Carlson  / FOX Weather)

‘This is our reality right now’

Carlson bought waders and a boat, so she could leave the house.

"It's not so easy to leave the house. We're pretty much stuck," she said. "We went and bought waders. We have a duck boat here. So what we're doing is we're taking our duck boat, and we're pushing it to dry land."

She was able to move her car to higher ground before the water started rising. She takes the boat to the cars to help other families, stock up on supplies and to give her little girl a chance to run.

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A drone picture of the Waterville flooding.

(Lyndsay Carlson  / FOX Weather)

"My 3-year-old has been cooped up in the house for days, so I finally took her out to town where there is dry land," Carlson said. "She saw a road for the first time in days and got excited. That's our reality right now." 

She said the whole community is pitching in. She shared photos of neighbors in their boats helping to reinforce her sandbag wall. Homeowners are signing up for shifts to watch the city pumps to make sure they don't get clogged.

"Everything will back up if that happens," she said.

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Waterville, MN 

(Lyndsay Carlson  / FOX Weather)

More rain in the forecast

Since last week, Waterville saw 14-18 inches of rain. Almost 6 of those fell from Thursday to Saturday. 

"I think it was Friday morning when we really thought, 'Yep, here we are. It's coming,'" she recalled. "The first couple of days it was knee-high. Now, it's up to our waists."

The river's water gauge on the Cannon River in Morristown, downstream of Waterville, shows the water level tapering off. But, there is more rain in the forecast this week.

Water levels on the Cannon river at Morristown, downriver from Waterville.

(NOAA)