What surprised the people of Browns Valley early Wednesday was that the swirling Little Minnesota River had risen so quickly -- and that the flood was coming from the wrong direction.

"It's the first time since about 1947 that the flood came from the west," said Traverse County engineer Larry Haukos. "The wrong part of town is flooded."

As many as 50 houses were flooded early Wednesday and more than 100 people were evacuated in the western and northern parts of the city, some by boat or heavy road equipment run by city officials and volunteers. Sixty people registered at a shelter set up by the Red Cross in the Browns Valley School.

A massive ice jam, perhaps abetted by drainage ditches dug by area farmers, caused the river to flood the west and north parts of the city of 630 people on the South Dakota border, Haukos said.

"I see some farm fields that are dry where there ought to be water, and that tells me a lot," he said.

"In recent years, any flooding was on the south side of town and the [federal] government bought up that land so people wouldn't get hurt," Haukos said. "This is the wrong flood."

Governor to visit

But on Wednesday, battered after a night helping rescue his neighbors and a day contacting any agency that might help, Mayor Jeff Backer Jr. was trying to decide what to do once the waters recede.

"People are safe, that's the main thing. And the river dropped about 6 inches. Maybe the governor can help. He's coming [this afternoon]. We've asked for a disaster declaration," he said.

Many went to bed Tuesday knowing that the Little Minnesota River had been falling. But they were awakened after midnight by the sound of water in the house, a frantic call of warning from a neighbor or a rescuer knocking on the door.

"We thought we were OK, then whoosh!" Backer said. "In the 20 minutes it took me to help rescue one older resident about 1 a.m., the water was up 2 feet around my house." He has a basement and a car full of water.

As he moved around town Wednesday, the damage before him was awful, he said, and the prospects aren't good.

"We're not wealthy people. We're a community of older people, people on fixed incomes," Backer said.

"Some people lost everything, house, car, everything but the clothes they're still wearing.

"And most don't have flood insurance," he said. "They've never been flooded before."

'We'll need help'

Complicating the outlook for people in Browns Valley is that there's not nearly the $5 million in damage to roads, bridges and other public structures required to get a federal disaster declaration, engineer Haukos said.

"We'll need help," Mayor Backer said. "For sure with cleanup, but then figuring out how what people are going to do.