"We were hoping for rain, and then it came": Heavy rain closes roads, prompts evacuations in central Minnesota
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- After overnight storms, parts of central Minnesota are experiencing flooding.
A number of homes near the Little Elk River in the town of Randall had to be evacuated Friday, while a number of roads were closed off.
"There's water everywhere. It's completely insane. I've never seen anything like this," said Meghan Waldoch.
Waldoch spent part of Friday afternoon trying to get to her mother in law's house. But it was no easy task, as 230th Avenue leading into Randall was closed, and surrounding country roads were washed out.
"She's got 12 inches of water in her basement, but she's doing OK," Waldoch said.
In town, Jason Ganz couldn't say the same for his mom, Patricia. A porch pillow from her house was found blocks away from her home.
"The countertops. That's how high the water is in the house right now," Ganz said. "Everything is floating. Couch is floating and everything in there."
For now, she'll stay at Ganz's apartment in nearby Little Falls.
"She's devastated. She works for the state, she was working overnight last night," Ganz said. "She's at my place trying to get a nap in, and she can hardly do that even."
Another concern in Randall is that there is potential for more rain and flooding, Friday night into Saturday morning.
"It rained really hard. On and off until about 2:00 in the morning," Bob Maschler said.
Maschler is a WCCO Weather Watcher. He said his rain gauge registered more than a foot of rain in four hours. Maschler has lived near Randall most of his life, and it's the worst flooding he's seen in 50 years.
"We were hoping for rain, and then it came. We didn't need quite that much," Maschler said.
