St. Anthony, Minn. - Heavy downpours created a mess across the north metro Saturday. 35W northbound near 694 was closed most of the day. The southbound that reopened in the early evening was crawling along. There are massive delays and back-ups as some spots of freeway had more than four feet of standing water.
"it's a disaster. There is tons of stuff that is ruined and is going to need to be replaced,” said flood victim Josie Jaroscak.
Jaroscak woke up in her first floor Saint Anthony condo to water pouring in through the walls.
"It happened so fast. It really felt like I was on the Titanic where I didn't know when or if it was going to stop. It was awful. Scary."
Frantic, she raced around her home yanking power cords out of the sockets, getting valuables onto higher shelves and scrambling to save her cat from drowning.
The water ravaged about a dozen units at Mirror Lake Manor. It buckled floors and left interior walls, bathrooms and garage stalls caked with dirt.
"The rain came so hard, so quick, in such quantities. The roof literally couldn't support all that,” another man said.
Over in Roseville, Josh Galle and his family were lucky to make it out of their mobile home unscathed. The roof and wall of the kitchen area collapsed while they were sleeping around six o'clock Saturday morning. With no insurance on the 35-year old unit, Galle has no idea what comes next.
In addition to wreaking havoc for homeowners, the massive amount of water that fell made driving a nightmare in parts of the north metro. The state patrol reports that there were spots on 35W near 694 where overflow ponds overflowed. At one spot, it left four feet of standing water on the interstate.
MNDOT shut down the stretch of highway after several motorists stalled including a young woman who sat on her Volvo until help arrived.
Trooper Kyle Klawiter advises, “If you see water coming across road. Not know how deep that is. You are going to want to stop and if you can, turn your flashers on. And emergency crews should be on the way."
Many though didn't heed the warning.
The state patrol is urging motorists to avoid the 35W and 694 areas all together. FOX 9 News is told the delays there are really unbearable. There is no timetable on when that water will receed.


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