By Praniti Gulyani
On June 26, 2024, a video released on the USA Today website showed how a Minnesota home was sucked into the Blue Earth River after consecutive storms caused flooding in the river.
Blue Earth County (Minnesota): According to the government’s official Facebook page, a major part of the home—located close to the Rapidan Dam—fell into the river. This was partly caused due to the failure of the dam, particularly because the 
recent rains resulted in tremendous floods in the region.
However, this home was not the only impacted location.
As per an article on the USA Today website entitled “As climate change makes extremes more extreme, rainfall is no different,” the increased water levels forged a new pathway around the Rapidan Dam.
In addition to threatening to destroy the dam, the adjacent store—which belonged to the Bruska family who are known for their pies and shakes that have been a joy to the palette for decades—was also at the risk of being swept away.
The government was prepared for this. Or so they thought.
An article on the USA Today website mentions how “a climate action law in Vermont describes how the government’s calculations for maximum rainfall are no longer valid due to the increased rainfall driven by climate change.”
“As has been shown time and time again, event after event, climate change is leading to wetter, more extreme precipitation events,” says Kevin Reed, an associate provost for climate and sustainability programming at Stony Brook University, in the same article.
The impact of climate change, however, is not just limited to the Blue Earth River.
The article also describes how, as per a study by the U.S. Geological Survey Department, more than 200 streamgauges in North Central U.S. were at risk due to flooding on June 28, 2024, leading to a rapidly rising need for communal awareness to prevent such frequent flooding.
