ST. PAUL - Governor Mark Dayton secured a latest major disaster declaration following strong storms and flooding in June. President Barack Obama declared a major disaster for 18 Minnesota counties: Benton, Big Stone, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Morrison, Pope, Sibley, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Traverse and Wilkin.
Preliminary damage assessments determined the storms caused $17.8 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state. Communities in the affected counties are now eligible for federal assistance.
The major disaster declaration is for Public Assistance which covers uninsured eligible projects submitted by counties, cities, townships and certain private, not-for-profit organizations.
Preliminary damage estimates compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management division (HSEM) showed the following eligible amounts:
Emergency work
Debris Removal - $5 million
Emergency Protective Measures - $1.8 million
Permanent work to repair
Roads and Bridges - $9 million
Water Control Facilities - $1 million
Buildings and Equipment - $243,474
Utilities - $585,615
Parks, Recreational Facilities and other items - $73,780
FEMA will reimburse 75 percent of approved costs. The 25 percent non-federal share is the responsibility of state and local governments.
This disaster declaration also includes funding for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. This is assistance for actions taken to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property from natural hazards. All counties in the state are eligible to apply for assistance under this program.
The storm system began with 5.6 inches of rain in Stevens County on June 20 and ended with 8.25 inches of rain in Wilkin County on June 26. Parts of the state saw record 48-hour rainfall amounts. One to two inch-per-hour rainfall caused flash flooding and mudslides in many locations. Thousands of trees were uprooted and fell on public buildings and roads. At the peak, 600,000 buildings were without electricity, making it the largest power outage in Minnesota history.
