in south dakota, eric nordstrom has lived along the river with his family for more than a decade. tonight, he's ready to walk away. >> it's just a house. it's not a home anymore. it's just a house. we moved out about a week ago and went elsewhere. >> reporter: with the missouri river running nearly 2,400 miles long, seven midwest states are under a flood emergency. the massive flow of water controlled by six dams. every release adding more pressure to communities down river. but the reservoirs are nearly full. there's too much water to hold back. the army corps of engineers, blamed for waiting too long to release the excess flow. >> mother nature really put a significant event to us. there's no way you can really plan for a rainfall of that magnitude. >> reporter: with the river rising every day, 180 miles of the missouri is shut down. the water too dangerous to navigate. the national guard is being called in. >> what we're doing is securing the city infrastructure, building up levees where needed. >> reporter: but the river may not crest for weeks and evacuations could last month