Here's how to help with flood recovery, cleanup

The two rivers that meet in Faribault crested near or over their all-time highs over the weekend and Monday, causing damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure in some areas.

Volunteers, whether individuals or organizations, are needed in all the cities that flooded, including Faribault, Morristown, Waterville and more. While most the river gauges indicate the rivers have started to recede, the Cannon River in Morristown is being especially stubborn, according to the mayor.

“Friday was bad,” Morristown Mayor Tony Lindahl said. “We almost lost the sewer plant, and that would have lost the town. We had eight pumps running to keep ahead of it and maintain it. Now finally, we’re back down to two. It’s been maintained, and we’re doing fine. But we don’t need any more rain.”

Unfortunately for Morristown families near the town’s waterways, this Friday is suspected to bring more rain. Lindahl said, as of Monday evening, it’s unclear whether the river will subside before then.

“Our river is still rising,” he said. “Not a lot, you know — it’s going up maybe an inch a day — so the crest isn’t there. We just got done talking to a hydrologist, and he flat out told us ‘I’m not going to give you an estimated date of crest because there’s too much groundwater out there in the fields and homeowner’s land. It’s not the lakes and rivers.’ He said ‘I can’t even guess; I’m not going to guess.’

“He just knows that it’s going up, and he doesn’t know when it’s going to stop. I’m not trying to scare anybody. But what people have to understand, everybody in all these communities are doing what they can to make sure that everything is getting done the best they can, to help everybody.”

However, as of Tuesday afternoon, the Morristown river gauge has yet to surpass the peak height from Monday morning and has started showing signs of a downward curve. It’s unclear how long that’ll last.

Morristown City Administrator and Public Works Director Ellen Judd said volunteers won’t be necessary until the flood really begins to recede, and she will update the city website and Facebook when they’re ready for volunteers to assist with removal of sandbags and other flood measures.

The city website is at ci.Morristown.mn.us and the official Facebook page can be found by visiting TinyURL.com/MorristownFacebook or searching for the City of Morristown, MN on Facebook.

The city of Faribault still faces its flood, but that water has started going down. Some infrastructure remains shut down, including White Sands Dog Park, the Faribault Compost Site, Teepee Tonka Park, as well as parts of Western Avenue, Seventh Street and Park Avenue.

The city issued a press release about how individuals and organizations can help with cleanup efforts by either calling 1-833-643-7423 or signing up online at bit.ly/RiceCo_FloodVolunteerSignup and providing one’s name, phone number and an estimate of how many volunteers they would bring.

“This hotline, which will be staffed weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., can also be used by residents and business owners to document their storm-related property and crop damage,” the release continues. “Include your name, address, contact information, a brief description of damage incurred, damage estimate(s) and whether losses are covered by flood insurance. During non-business hours, callers should leave a message with the requested information.”