Thousands of people across the Midwest have evacuated their homes as areas from Nebraska to Missouri face massive flooding.

Heavy rains and melting snow are to blame for the high waters which have forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release record amounts of water from six Midwest dams in order to relieve the pressure on the structures. Canadian reservoirs had to do the same.

Now all of that water is surging downstream, causing rivers to rise as much as seven feet above flood stage.

In Minot, N.D. time has run out. More than 11,000 residents were ordered to evacuate Wednesday afternoon.

Water is already flowing over the city's levees.

"This has been a highly unusual weather event. We don't know exactly what kind of devastation this can have. We've never seen anything like what we're expecting here," Mayor Curt Zimbelman said.

"Public safety is paramount," he added. "The water is rising fast, and people need to get evacuated as soon as possible."

The city is expecting the worst flooding it has seen in decades.

The Missiouri River is also flooding out of its banks in the area where the states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska meet.

Officials say flooding along the river could continue into August.