Flash Flood in Goodhue County, Minnesota

Significant flooding was reported in the North Fork Zumbro River watershed during the evening of the 7th after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell. A total of 5.47 inches of rain was recorded in Wanamingo in 24 hours, 2.8 inches of which fell between 9:30 and 10:30 PM. An unnamed creek which flows into the North Fork Zumbro River rose 20 feet above its normal 1 foot level and rushed over Highway 1 about 1 mile south of the Highway 30 intersection in Wanamingo Township, about 4 miles west of Wanamingo. By 10:30 PM the creek completed covered the road in rushing water up to 2.5 feet deep and shortly thereafter two separate vehicles were swept off the roadway and were washed down the creek. One vehicle, a pickup truck, was found in a nearby ditch with a smashed windshield and badly damaged hood. The body of the driver, a 47-year-old man, was found three quarters of a mile downstream under farm equipment nearly a day and a half later when the water finally subsided. The man, who lived in Hayfield, was on his way to work in Cannon Falls. The other vehicle that was washed off the road and into the creek was a sedan. The driver, a 50-year-old Kenyon woman who was on her way home from work, exited the car through an open window after traveling about ½ mile downstream. She floated on her back down the creek until lightning illuminated a nearby fencepost which she grabbed hold of until rescuers arrived two hours later. Incredibly she survived the ordeal with only bruises. The rushing creek was also responsible for washing out 200 feet of gradual slope along Highway 1 near the road. Scattered debris was also found in farm fields along the creek's banks for several miles. In addition, an unnamed creek that flows into the North Fork Zumbro River about 2 miles east of Wanamingo inundated the Shades of Sherwood campground around 10:30 PM.