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Prior to the 1965 flood, the highest level of the Minnesota River in Chaska was 29.1 feet, recorded in 1952. In 1953, a dam was built measuring a foot and a half above the level of the 1952 flood. As the snow melted and the river began to rise in the spring of 1965, It soon became clear that the river would bypass the dam.
At various points along the Minnesota River, as well as other bodies of water, designated residents measured the water level with river gauges and reported their findings to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Emil Teske was a river gauger in Carver County during the 1965 flood. He reported that the river level was 7.40 feet on April 5. Two days later, the river level had risen by about 10 feet. The community is warned that the water will exceed flood levels by the following week. Emergency trucks were pulled in to add to the dam’s height.
As the river continues to rise, the residents of Chaska and Carver are encouraged to evacuate. On April 12 at 8 p.m., the Minnesota River peaked at 34.25 feet. The water remained at this height through the next day. A total of 57 homes and 20 businesses in Carver were severely damaged. Two hundred and forty-two homes and 14 commercial buildings were damaged in Shaska. Many residents were reluctant to evacuate, unaware that floodwaters would reach over the second floors of many homes.
Residents made a special effort to protect the new Carver County Courthouse. Hundreds of people filled sandbags and used them to create a wall surrounding the building. The volunteers’ hard work paid off, and the courthouse was saved.
Carver and 38 other Minnesota counties were declared disaster areas in the days after the flood. The American Red Cross provided assistance to affected families and businesses. The flood also caused about $400,000 (in 1965 cost estimates) damage to local highways. Dynamite was used to break up large blocks of ice that were traveling rapidly downriver and colliding with the pillars of the highway bridge. The water also damaged the guardrail posts and the road surface, causing parts of them to be washed away.
Less than a month after the flood, Carver County was hit by a series of tornadoes. Building and property losses at the governorate level amounted to nearly four million dollars.
For more information on this topic, check out original entry on MNopedia.
