DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. (KTIV) -
Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer.
Cathy Hwang, Dakota Dunes said, "We were just having a party one minute and the next minute we have to go."
Last year, the holiday marked the official start of a long water-logged season. May 30th, state officials urge residents in Dakota Dunes to prepare for the worst.
"It's a horse race for us right now, we're trying to get in as much levee as we can, we want to protect your homes and we are doing our very best ," said Joe Lowe.
May 31st, in the hopes of keeping the Missouri in its banks, three Blackhawk helicopters attacked the shorefront with sandbags.
People packed up.
Kenny Kast, Dakota Dunes said, "We had move everything out of downstairs and upstairs because we didn't know how bad it was going to be."
Nor did they know when they could come home. Some, like Kenny and Dorothy Kast spent their summer camping. Others rented apartments or stayed in hotels.
Dorothy Kast, Dakota Dunes said, "They kind of scared us to begin with, and told us we only had a few days to get out."
Just about everyone is back in their homes now, but home just doesn't look the same.
Cathy Hwang, Dakota Dunes said, "It was not here before. It was all river."
Riverfront homes, turned to beachfront property. The levees left, but reminders remain. Sandbags still dot lawns. Inside some homes saw a couple inches of groundwater. Others, a few feet.
The Kasts had just spent $15,000 finishing their basement. Money down the drain.
Kenny Kast, Dakota Dunes said, "It was very, very frustrating."
They've spent much more on movers, flood clean-up, and redoing their basement a second time.
Kenny Kast said, "We're getting to the point where we got things under control."
Many of Kast's neighbors have put their condos up for sale. But, sales have hardly dried up. Kast says five on his street have sold since September.
Those who live right on the river, like the Hwangs don't plan on leaving. In fact, they're going to do something they didn't get to do last summer.
Cathy Hwang, Dakota Dunes said, "We're not going anywhere this summer. We're staying home everyday."
