Flooding damaged homes and properties in the Glacial Lakes region, but it appears the worst of it was avoided in northeast South Dakota. Now, the recovery begins.
Flooding did do meaningful damage in some places over the weekend, but local reports indicate there was less destruction than what was seen in southeastern South Dakota this time last year.
Terry Jaspers is mayor of Sisseton, near the heart of the flooding.
“It was a quick event," Jaspers said. "The areas that flooded in town were part of our floodplain here, mainly our city parks. They held water for a while and then they drained away. You drive around town now and you really can’t see too much effect from the flood. The businesses that were impacted the most from this were the businesses located on the east side of the city.”
Namely, a propane distributor, a storage unit, and a mechanics shop were most damaged, although other homes and businesses reported water seeping into basements.
Jaspers said there were reports of propane tanks floating in the floodwaters, a potentially dangerous situation, though no leaks or associated damage was reported.
Ultimately, with no permanent displacements, the worst was avoided.
“We turned out as well as can be expected, you just don’t expect to get five to six inches of rain in such a short period of time, and that’s what happens, some of the lower areas in town do flood," Jaspers said. "Still, for those businesses impacted, it’s going to affect them. There’s no question about that.”
No state of emergency has been declared for the area as of Tuesday.