Faribault council votes to extend state of emergency

The Faribault City Council voted to affirm the declaration of a state of emergency, which Mayor Kevin Voracek issued Saturday, due to recent flooding.

The state of emergency is set to run through June 30, though Kinser said a special meeting could be called July 2 to extend it, if necessary.

Fire Chief Dustin Dienst, the city’s emergency response director, provided the council with an update on the flood response over the last several days. Dienst said that, after several major floods in recent years, the city has gotten quite adept in response.

“A lot of coordination has happened this time that hasn’t happened in the past, and it’s making it a better process,” Dienst said. “We’re using common language and it’s a lot less confusing.”

With conditions even worse to the west, a shelter at the Faribault National Guard Armory was opened up for Le Sueur County residents at the request of the Red Cross. Dienst estimated that somewhere in the range of 50-70 persons from Le Sueur County may need sheltering.

Dienst added that those who have suffered major damages will likely be able to receive federal help now that damage has easily exceeded the threshold ($50 million in estimated damages) to receive a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Asked by Councilor Royal Ross, Dienst said that the Wastewater Treatment Plant has held up well despite operating under significant stress, thanks to the extensive mitigation efforts which the city has implemented over the last few years in anticipation of this kind of situation.

With much of the basic emergency response procedure refined, Dienst said that perhaps the biggest challenge emergency responders face now are unruly members of the public. On Saturday, he said that police were overwhelmed by the number of people who came to gawk or stand in the river to take a photo.

Dienst told Councilor Tom Spooner that he and communications staff with both the city and Rice County are laser-focused on informing the public of the danger and health hazards posed by wading in intense, toxic currents of water.

“That truly was our biggest headache over the weekend; we had to deal with the water, but dealing with the public was worse,” Dienst said. “People just don’t know. Every person that I told, who were standing in their Crocs in the water, when I told them what was in the water, they ran out of there pretty quickly.”