'Extreme Flooding' in Eastern South Dakota Sparks Evacuations

Officials in Madison, in eastern South Dakota, were evacuating low-lying areas and urging people to avoid travel on September 12 after heavy rain brought what police described as “extreme flooding” to the area.

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls said flooding had developed “from Pipestone to Madison to Mitchell,” and warned that streams and rivers may continue to rise.

Between three and six inches of rain fell across Lake, Minnehaha, Miner, McCook, and Hanson counties by Thursday morning, the weather service said.

The flooding sparked the closure of multiple roads across the southeastern portion of the state, including a stretch of Interstate 90. The Minnehaha Sheriff’s Office said there was only one passable route in and out of the town of Baltic. Credit: Chase Lucas via Storyful