New Richland residents say flooding is the worst they have seen

Residents in New Richland are cleaning up from what many describe as the worst flooding they've ever seen in the small southern Minnesota city.

Dozens of homes in the city of about 1,200 people were impacted as floodwaters surged through neighborhoods, filled basements and forced evacuations on Saturday. Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas said no injuries were reported, but the extent of the damage remains unclear as water slowly recedes.

Aerial views showed large portions of the community underwater. 

For homeowner Zoe Jepson, the flooding happened fast.

"I rushed to the garage and our two vehicles were underwater," Jepson said.

Water poured into her home near the creek that runs through town, damaging furniture, carpet and her 2-year-old daughter's toys.

"It was just panic because it was coming in fast," she said.

Brenda Routh returned home after driving more than 12 hours from a wedding in Tennessee to find about 16 inches of water in her basement.

"We lost everything in the basement," Routh said.

She said the force of the floodwater shattered basement windows.

"The water pressure was so high," she said.

The flooding also prompted the evacuation of 36 senior residents from the New Richland Care Center.

"Water was flowing over Highway 13, and I said, 'We've got to go now,'" said Robert Johannsen, an administrator at the care center.

It took three hours for staff to move all the residents to safety and onto two buses. 

"There were three people who got to ride a bed through the water over to dry land," Johannsen said.

New Richland experienced significant flooding in 2010 and 2016, but Dulas told WCCO this event appears to be worse than either of those floods.