Heartbreaking moment family's Rapidan Dam house is washed away after flooding forced them to flee home and store they've run for 50 years

Footage captured the moment a family's home collapsed into the Rapidan Dam following historic flooding throughout Minnesota. 

The owner of the 114-year-old property Jenny Barnes, whose family has operated The Dam Store for five decades, admitted days before that it came as no surprise to see her home fall into the Blue Earth River. 

'It’ll happen. We don’t know when but it’s going to be inevitable that the house is going to go,' Barnes told KARE. 

The Minnesota home precariously teetered on the edge of the river for years, but the imminent failure of the Rapidan Dan dangerously eroded its foundations and led to the collapse on Tuesday. 

A 114-year-old home by the Blue Earth River in Rapidan, Minnesota fell into the water on Tuesday night after torrential flooding took out its foundations 

The home, which operated a local store for decades, teetered on the edge of the river as the Rapidan Dam began to fail 

The fall came days after the region was hit with torrential rainfall that led to heavy flooding, which put excessive strain on the Rapidan Dam. 

Officials said the dam is expected to break, and Barnes said she woke up early Monday morning to the sound of explosions by the dam. 

The noises turned out to be the failure of an electrical substation near the dam as heavy rainfall flooded in, with footage showing the currents flowing over the dam and eroding the foundations to their home. 

Barnes said her brother and father were in the home at the time, and later on Monday they were forced to evacuate the home their family has lived in since 1972. 

In an alert issued Monday as footage showed parts of the dam in ruins, Blue Earth County Emergency Management stated, 'We do not know if it will totally fail or if it will remain in place.

'However,' the agency added, 'we determined it was necessary to issue this notification to advise downstream residents and the correct regulatory agencies and other local agencies.'

Rapidan Dam Store owner Jenny Barnes (pictured) recalled the moment she heard loud bangs and saw flashes of light at 2 a.m. Monday and knew it was time for her family to evacuate

Footage captured the moment the home's foundations finally gave in 

Barnes said she woke up early Monday morning to the sound of explosions by the dam, which were an Xcel Energy substation failing (pictured) as a result of the flooding 

Officials say the Rapidan Dam reached the point of 'imminent failure' due to the flooding  

An aerial drone image of the devastation the torrential flooding brought, ripping through concrete structures before taking part of the home downstream 

The store has operated by the dam since 1910 before Barnes' father bought it over 50 years ago, and it became a local favorite known for its homemade pies. 

'That's our life, as well. That's our business; that's our livelihood. It's everything to us,' Barnes told Fox9 on Monday. 

'It'll happen. We don't know when but it's going to be inevitable that the house is going to go.'

Officials said the eventual collapse came late on Tuesday evening, and were continuing to monitor the debris for potential impacts downstream. 

Locals gathered around the river to watch the eventual moment the home fell, with residents saying they were sad to see the mainstay store fall to pieces. 

'For some people, this is a historic monument. For us, it's a life-altering event,' resident Shannon Whittet told CBS News. 

'We grew up going there and getting pie. I mean, do a route, get a Pepsi, get a little ice cream, and used to go play in the river down there,' local John Lippman added.  

Although officials say the dam is in 'imminent failure condition', Sheriff Jeff Wersal stressed that a 'catastrophic event would not be that significant.' 

The failure of the dam would see the river's water level rise around two feet, but the river also has a levee system that officials say they are confident would prevent any considerable damage. 

Locals gathered around the river to watch the eventual moment the home fell, with residents saying they were sad to see the mainstay store fall to pieces 

Barnes (left) and her family have operated the store since 1972, and it had become a local favorite known for its homemade pies 

Barnes admitted while her home was still standing that she expected it would collapse, adding: 'It’ll happen. We don’t know when but it’s going to be inevitable that the house is going to go'  

In their own statement, the National Weather Service described how the failure is set to cause the portion of river that cuts through Mankato to crest just below major flood state Tuesday morning.

Citizens in low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley have now been told to evacuate - as officials continue to monitor whether the Rapidan Dam will fully give in.

Twenty other cities - such as Fairmont - also sit in the flash flood radius, as water has already washed out a large portion of the dam, which for years has spurred questions about its structural integrity.

Gov. Tim Walz and state emergency response officials cited such scrutiny upon issuing their own statement Monday morning, as nearby roads are in danger of being overflowed.

'I know the structural integrity of the dam has been a question for a long time,' Gov. Walz said of the longstanding structure, constructed in 1910 by the Ambersen Hydraulic Construction Company.

The Rapidan Dam was constructed between 1908 and 1910. It measures in at 87 feet high and 475 feet long, and is made entirely of concrete.

Officials are currently implementing the opening stages outlined in the Rapidan Dam Emergency Action Plan, a guidance outlining how to respond to such a failure and help potentially affected people kept on the backburner.