St. Louis County strives to be number one in serving its citizens.
But not so much in being the number one Minnesota county with the most flood damage.
An estimated $11,025,904 in damage to public infrastructure within St. Louis County is reported as a result of the recent flooding, Josh Brinkman, St. Louis County Emergency Management coordinator said.
The damage total tops all 87 Minnesota counties, Brinkman said.
“St. Louis County likes to be number one in a lot of things,” Brinkman said. “But we don’t want to be number one in this.”
Effects from the June 18 deluge that inundated infrastructure, businesses, homes, and communities in the region, are still being felt.
Seemingly non-stop rain events since then have compounded water-related issues.
“Minnesota isn’t the only one in our region,” Brinkman said. “Wisconsin got hit and Iowa is getting hit pretty heavy.”
A dollar estimate for damage to private residences and property within St. Louis County isn’t known, Brinkman said.
So far, 550 residents have reported private property damage on the St. Louis County website, he said.
However, county officials expect the actual total number of residents that were impacted to be much higher.
“Both myself and the assessors office believe that’s under reported,” Brinkman said. “It’s probably less than half of the damages.”
While federal and state governments can provide financial assistance for public infrastructure damage, private property owners are left to recover on their own with possible help from home insurance or loans.
“It’s a tough one,” Brinkman said. “Looking at the long-term, recovery is going to be tough. A lot of people aren’t going to be able to mitigate damage in their basements and end up with mold.”
St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald of Ely, whose district was hit especially hard, says he appreciates the response of citizens and county employees.
“I would like to thank all the local government units (cities and townships) and all the individuals who have submitted the damage forms to the county,” McDonald said. “Also kudos to our emergency management staff who have coordinated this effort to get all the damages accounted for.”
Brinkman said the county encourages citizens to report private property damage on a form on the county website.
“There’s a banner at the top of the home page that people can click on,” Brinkman said.
On the public side, 34 different public jurisdictions within St. Louis County have reported damage estimates, Brinkman said.
The total includes damages to various St. Louis County departments, cities, townships, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) operations within St. Louis County, Brinkman said.
Flooding at the 27th level of the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park is expected to result in one of the largest damage totals to DNR facilities, according to the DNR.
The DNR is still working to pump flood from the depths of the mine.
Underground tours of the historic mine are suspended until further notice.
Surface tours are still being offered daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Damage assessments remain underway on remote recreational trails such as snowmobile trails and bridges, according to the DNR.
DNR trail maintenance crews are working to repair summer recreational trails used by the public, the DNR said.
Trail conditions are updated on the DNR website.
Although the $11 million in estimated damages to public infrastructure within the county could change, the figure is thought to be fairly accurate, Brinkman said.
“I do believe this will be roughly our final numbers,” Brinkman said. “But with a lot of them, you start fixing them and you find other problems.”
Brinkman said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state emergency management officials are expected to visit the region to collect damage information and do site tours.
Yet, rising water is still a concern in some areas.
“Right now, we’re watching the (Lake) Kabetogama and Crane Lake areas,” Brinkman said. “The water is still rising there. We might see it continue to rise another four or five days into the weekend. Lake Vermilion is looking better. It’s flooded and my guess is it might rise another three to six inches (until cresting), but it’s not looking as bad as it was two-and-a-half years ago.”
Because of the high water on area lakes, officials are urging boaters to slow down to avoid pushing more water toward shorelines.
“Some boaters are not having regard for the wake,” Brinkman said. “If you’re in the area and you’re driving too fast, you’re damaging people’s homes, property and docks.”
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