Couple Watches Floodwater Fill Basement

WEST OF HARRISBURG, SD - A couple west of Harrisburg watched floodwaters fill their basement to the rafters, and couldn't do anything, even when it began to spill onto the main level.

The Dietz home on South Minnesota Avenue, just west of Harrisburg, has never seen this much flooding. They woke up to the sound of rushing water in the basement, and eventually, they found the basement completely filled with water, which began gushing onto the main floor.

"Water was at least two feet up here when I carried my big screen TV out of the house last night," Jeff Dietz said.

Dietz says it happened in just a couple hours.

"Tried to put up everything we could, but it came up so fast, we didn't have time,” Dietz said. “We had to get out."

Dietz and his wife aren't sure what they'll do next; the damage is just too much to handle.

"We'll let the insurance company look at it and hopefully we can salvage it, but we'll have to see," Dietz said.

And the couple knows by the time insurance agents are done assessing the damage, there may be nothing left to save.

"We'll have to gut it or total loss," Dietz said.