Six dead, dozens homeless in southern Minnesota flooding

Rescue workers resumed their search Monday morning for a man reported missing after heavy flooding that killed at least six people and caused mass evacuations in southeastern Minnesota.

Steady rain continued overnight as National Guard soldiers guarded the small towns that cleared out after the devastating flooding early Sunday.

"This is the worst disaster that's hit southeast Minnesota in a lifetime," state Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes said.

Two victims of the flooding in Houston County were identified Sunday night: David Roland Ask, of Houston, who was killed in Mound Prairie Township; and David Thomas Blackburn, of Spring Grove, who died in LaCrescent Township. Their ages weren't immediately released.

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Blackburn, 37, died after his foot became wedged between his vehicle and a tree after his car carrying his wife, Dawn, and a friend was swept off County Road 6 by high water.

He helped his wife and their friend into a tree before he and the vehicle were swept away, according to Dawn's aunt, Lori Stoen, of Spring Grove. The Blackburns had two young sons. Both worked in Caledonia at Miken, a baseball and softball bat maker.

In Winona County, one couple died when their vehicle plunged into a 30-foot gully in a road near Witoka while another couple died when their vehicle was swept into a ditch in Stockton. Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said they were a 67-year-old man and his 66-year-old wife and an 80-year-old man and his 68-year-old wife, all from Winona County. He expected their names to be released Monday.

Rescue workers in Winona County resumed the search for a 37-year-old man whose car was found near a rest area along Interstate 90 near the exit to Lewiston.

The Winona County Sheriffs Dive Rescue Team was preparing to go into the north branch of Rush Creek Monday morning. Under overcast skies, divers were pulling on wet suits and preparing an inflatable raft.

The rest stop remained closed to the public during the search. It was also without power and water.

Houston County officials, meanwhile, also said Sunday night that search and rescue operations were under way in many parts of that county.

Among the hundreds of people evacuated were several who spent a harrowing night on their rooftops, including Sean Wehlage and his girlfriend.

"I cannot describe the terror of it all. I'm just glad to be alive," said Wehlage, 29, who climbed onto the roof of his one-story home in Stockton.

In Brownsville, eight people survived as their houses were pushed over a bluff by a mudslide, according to the Winona Daily News.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered 240 National Guard soldiers to the area to help with flood-relief and provide security.

The governor declared a state of emergency in six counties -- Winona, Wabasha, Fillmore, Houston, Steele and Olmsted. That will allow the state to coordinate response efforts, including using the Army Corps of Engineers to use pumps and generators to avoid levee breeches along the Root and Mississippi rivers.

Pawlenty was scheduled to tour flooded parts of Houston County on Monday morning, then meet with county residents who had been evacuated.

With more rain in the forecast, the Houston City Council ordered an evacuation of the town of 995 people. Stockton, with 803 residents, was evacuated, as well, and evacuations also took place in Pickwick and Elba and parts of Winona, which sits on the Mississippi River.

The Red Cross set up a shelter at St. Mary's University in Winona, St. Charles High School and other locations throughout the area.

Houston County Sheriff's dispatcher Dwayne Beckman said several roads and highways had been closed, bridges were washed out and mudslides were reported countywide. Grassy areas near Highway 16 outside Caledonia had been reduced to muddy lakes. Trees had slid toward stretches of Highway 44 between Caledonia and Hokah.

Tim Comstock, public information officer for Houston County, said Monday that county officials were assessing the dike along the Root River in Houston to see when it would be safe for residents to return.

The same storm hammered southwestern Wisconsin.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Tod Rieck in La Crosse, Wis., said a storm system that parked over southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin dumped 6 to 8 inches of rain on Saturday, with some areas receiving as much as a foot.

"When the showers and thunderstorms set up, they sat there for hour after hour after hour," he said.

He said the Kickapoo river in Wisconsin was at a record crest on Sunday, and the Root River in Minnesota was at or near a record crest.

In Rushford, the power and phone service was knocked out and the sewage treatment system was under water, said Fillmore County coordinator Karen Brown.

To help drain away the water, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened part of its lock and dam system on the Mississippi River south of Lake Pepin -- a bulge in the river in southeastern Minnesota.

"Once we pull the gates, it's open river conditions," said Shannon Bauer, corps spokeswoman. "It's like the dam's are not there."

The weather service warned of more heavy rain across the southern third of the state on Monday, including thunderstorms in the southwest corner of the state.

By Scott Bauer, Associated Press Writer

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