Minnesota Boat Club moves watercraft, equipment in advance of high water on Mississippi River
As the Mississippi River flows ever higher, those nearby have to move out of the way. Opposite downtown St. Paul, a rowing club on an island in the river has to pack up.
Jacqueline Hamilton lifted a lightweight 30-foot single boat up between two supports. She worked her way through a series of nuts and bolts to break it down.
"I have two singles and I need to de-rig my boats. So basically the rigger that sits on top of my boat needs to come off, my seat needs to come out," she said. "Then I put a cover on it and then I will place this on top of my car."
Hamilton and dozens of others at the Minnesota Boat Club worked Thursday to clear out the bottom floor of the two-story landmark building. They've done this several times in the last few years. As they worked, just steps from their door, the Mississippi River rushed by, occasionally carrying large chunks of ice.
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"We are getting kind of good at knowing the steps to evacuate, but still it's so much work," said the club's president, Charlene McEvoy. She zipped around, reciting a checklist of everything that will be shut off in the next day or two.
"The heat's turning off, the electricity's turning off. We won't have access to the island. We can walk, but it won't be driveable. Starting Monday, they are going to block it off," McEvoy said.
As people placed the slim rowboats on the tops of cars, Hamilton began zipping up the cover for her boat. She talked about another flood in another place. She was living in Philadelphia near the Schuylkill River, which began to rise after a heavy snowfall.
"It kept rising and the street was flooded and then all of the sudden, huge icebergs were floating down the street. And then cars were floating down the street and I had 3 feet on my first floor," she said.
The fire department rescued Hamilton by boat. The experience taught her never to take the possibility of flooding for granted.
The National Weather Service estimates the Mississippi River will hit major flood stage in St. Paul at 17 feet early next week.