Quinn Dam: Barrier breached in US with warning of 'uncontrollable release of large amounts of water'

South Dakota dam could trigger flash flooding after an apparent breach

South Dakota dam could trigger flash flooding after an apparent breach (Sopotnicki / Shutterstock)

The Quinn Dam in South Dakota appears to be severely damaged, as local officials warned of potential flooding in the region.

The Rapid City Pennington County Emergency Management agency released a statement on Tuesday afternoon reading, “Quinn Dam appears to be falling.”

“Large amounts of water may be uncontrollably released soon,” the statement read. “Anyone downstream should seek higher ground.”

Alexa White, deputy director for Penning County Emergency Management, confirmed the agency was expecting a total failure of the dam in an interview with The Independent on Tuesday afternoon.

“Our folks on the scene Pennington County Highway observed what appears to be a hole three feet by four feet that was continuing to grow. As they were on scene it was changing in size,” she said, adding, “We do expect a complete failure at some point today.”

“We just don’t know how long that will be and how it will develop,” she continued.

The water being held back currently amounts to nearly 840 acres, according to officials. That's approximately the same size as Central Park in Manhattan, New York.

Other local agencies posted flash flood warnings on Tuesday afternoon.

The counties that may be potentially impacted by the dam’s failure include East Central Pennington County, Northwestern Jackson County and Southwestern Haakon County, including other locations across Quinn and Cottonwood, as well as Cottonwood Creek.

A map of the impacted region indicated no major communities were included in the warning zones for potential flash flooding.

Those warnings encouraged residents to “act quickly to protect your life.”

Residents in the area posted photos to Twitter showing early images of the scene as the damn was expected to fail imminently.

Photos showed crews in the area just off the roadway working around the apparent hole in the dam as flood warnings remained in effect.