Flash flooding in Duluth, Minnesota, has forced residents to evacuate, left homes underwater, destroyed roads and even led to the drownings of at least eight animals at a zoo.
Between 5 and 9 inches of rain fell between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, sending what looked like raging rivers through Duluth's streets, according to the National Weather Service. Another 2 or 3 inches of rain was still likely to fall.
Duluth residents, who are more used to having snow dumped on them rather than flash floods, said the damage was worse than anything they had ever seen.
"This flooding has been crazy. We have not experienced anything like this in our community," iReporter Kayla Keigley, who said she works as a health care preparedness coordinator, told CNN. "Roads are destroyed. Neighborhoods are underwater. I am in shock and I work in the field of preparedness - this is something I work to 'deal with' daily. Our community is in disbelief."
Workers at the Lake Superior Zoo were in disbelief, too, when they learned at least eight animals drowned there. The toll might still rise, because the workers hadn't yet been able to check all enclosures.
"Sadly the zoo experienced the loss of several animals, among them many of the barnyard residents," Susan Wolniakowski, the zoo's director of guest services, said in a news release. "Due to flooding, the zoo’s polar bear Berlin was able to exit her exhibit. She was darted by the zoo’s vet and is safe in quarantine. At no time did any dangerous animal leave the perimeter fence."
The zoo said the staff still was assessing the situation.
“Obviously, our entire staff is devastated,” the zoo’s director of animal management, Peter Pruett, said.
With more rain still coming down this afternoon, the mayor, the weather service and local emergency management officials warned residents to be careful and to stay off the roads. Several people have had to be rescued from their cars because of either flooding or because they had fallen into sinkholes, the weather service reported.
Richard Thomas sent iReport a photo of this car that drove into a sinkhole when it was flooded.
"We continue to emphasize that this is an extremely dangerous and life threatening situation for all areas in Duluth and along the north shore of Lake Superior," the National Weather Service said.
Keigley told CNN that in the area of Duluth where she lives, the "water has destroyed city streets, manhole covers are blown, (and) storm water is overflowing into the streets."
"Debris is washing down the roads, cars are underwater in some places, (and there are) sinkholes in neighborhoods," she said.
Keigley said that nearby rivers were overflowing and surging through the neighborhood.
"This is absolutely crazy and insane," Keigley said. "This is nothing like normal Duluth weather."
– CNN's Kara Devlin and Dave Hennen contributed to this report.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Better watch out for that Karma yourself there, Chucky. It's called gallows humor, little boy....grow up. I said nothinng insensetive at all.
This Forum is not for your idiotic argumental hissy fits! Grow up,wake up and focus on what is real. If you can't be civilized then don't post.
...laid-off, non-union, embittered writer waiting for the economy to turnaround...
Since when is the phrase "turn around" one word? jeez.
Sending good thoughts and prayers to all those affected by the flash flooding....most especially the animals. Hope the zoo can rescue those that are caught and can't get out.
Armageddon.
I HOLD BOTH A STATE AND FEDERAL WULDLIFE PERMIT – NO PAY- WE ARE ARE ALL CA VOLUNTEERS! NO ANIMALS IN Z00S -. LC
Hope they get the place cleaned up in time for the blues fest. Nice city to visit In the summer and winter. Hang in there Duluth.
Good job, greatest country in the world. Let's keep letting our federal government be held hostage by ideologues while the country's infrastructure crumbles around us.
I'm from Duluth and my prayers go out to family and friends. Wow. Crazy. I have a special, less compassionate prayer for the fools who've posted that clearly value the life of animals above humans. I won't go into detail but it ends with most of them as bear scat.
There are many who value the lives of some animals more than some human lives. Have you NOTICED what types of disgusting, selfish, mean people are out in this world??
This doesnt have anything to do with climate change. Rainfall like this happens all the time.
Maybe it rain s like this elsewhere but In my 42 years living in Duluth, this has never happened before. If this storm had happened in the winter, we would have over 8 feet of snow.
While I agree that this isn't climate change related, I do have to say that rainfall like this does NOT happen all the time. In fact, nothing even remotely close to this has happened in 40 years, and it's been 100 since a storm like this was matched here in Duluth. If that rain was equated to inches of snow, it'd be between 7-9 FEET. This amount of precipitation falling in the span of hours happens nowhere except maybe a rainforest or during a monsoon season in a place that's actually prepared for it.
Shocking and sad as flash floods come without warning, leaving little time to take any action. We experienced two 100 year floods in the Milwaukee area within 4 years that caused billions in damages and losses.
If a zoo refuses to create and test a disaster preparedness plan, then they should not be allowed to sell animals as a product for display. Zoo's are cruel and disgusting. If a human won't live like that neither should animals. Endangered animals would rather live life then suffer in filth waste and for human amusement.
Hope it wasn't the petting zoo.
It hopped AND it hoped it wasn't a real kangaroo, and this was all just a bad dream.
Oh yeah. Sure. This is where I'd rather be...nooooo doubt about it.
brb. Siegfreid and Roy are going at it again.