Flooding is also taking a toll on areas in western South Dakota. According to a recent post from the Oglala Sioux Tribe emergency management Facebook page, the melting is causing water levels to rise fast. It also says people who live in flood areas should keep watch on water levels and evacuate if exits start to become unusable.

People on the Pine Ridge Reservation are dealing with homes are surrounded by water and roads are becoming blocked.

“That type of flooding in all nine districts in our reservation, our creeks are swelling up into being rapid rivers,“ SD House Representative District 27, Peri Pourier said. “We have a lot of fast snow melt that’s coming off ridges and hills that’s going into the creeks, but we also have a lot of water coming from Nebraska.“

And that’s not all. South Dakota House Representative Peri Pourier says some people have been evacuated from their homes.

“Speaking with the emergency management services here in Pine Ridge, they really want the professionals in helping with evacuating, people who are really trained in swift water rescue because it’s dangerous,“ Pourier said.

Pourier says they are thankful for any help they can get.

“We have a lot of volunteers that are coming from the different communities, some volunteers within the communities are helping their respected communities,“ Pourier said. “We’re getting an overflow of support, we love that and we thank you and it’s a very positive feeling knowing there’s people out there that want to help.“

Pourier says officials are currently working on coordinating volunteer efforts for people who want to help. She says soon there will be a website with that information. Plus they’re working on getting food and supply boxes ready to send to communities.