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Flooding
Hannah Yang

Eligible Minnesotans can now request federal funding for flood damage

A flooded street with yellow caution signs-1
A flooded street in Windom not far from the Des Moines river on June 25.
Dan Gunderson | MPR News

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More disaster relief is coming for individuals affected by last month's flooding. 

Federal and state officials announced Tuesday that Minnesotans in 19 counties can now request individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help recover from losses they suffered during June’s flooding. The declaration will provide resources to reimburse communities and individuals for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair and place damaged infrastructure. 

Gov. Tim Walz requested the amendment to the original June 28 declaration after damage assessments showed significant destruction to homes and businesses statewide. 

“Minnesotans’ homes, belongings and family businesses were devastated by flooding this summer, and we aren’t stopping until they get the support they need to recover,” Walz said. “I’m grateful to our partners in the federal government for their continued commitment to our recovery efforts, and to the Minnesotans who carefully documented the extent of this damage.”

U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced that FEMA approved the delivery for individual assistance for Minnesotans affected by severe storms and flooding across 19 counties, including Blue Earth, Cook, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Itasca, Jackson, Lake, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Nobles, Rice, Rock, St. Louis, Steele, Waseca and Watonwan Counties.

The Individual Assistance programs provide access to programs and services to aid in recovery which includes financial assistance to eligible people and households. Klobuchar said the last time Minnesota received disaster relief was 2016 and only six counties received individual aid. 

“This is going to be a game changer for so many people that have lost their water heaters or lost their basement,” she said. “You might say ‘well, that’s a small ball compared to some of the roads that were washed out or bridges that were washed out, but for an individual family, this is everything.”

Klobuchar added it took longer for damage assessments to come through in contrast to other disasters because of flooding taking time to recede, as opposed to seeing the immediate effects of tornadoes or fires. But having individual homeowners and officials going through to document damages helped meet the threshold to secure aid. 

“I’m really glad that we stepped in with federal funding in such a big way,” she said. “In the past when this happened, it was just a few counties and now it’s so much more.”

For St. Louis County, assessors visited 716 private properties and inspected about 1,973 structures. About 374 total structures on 332 separate parcels suffered damage that qualified for property tax relief and the estimated amount of damage to private property owners totaled more than $11.846 million. 

“The June flood was devastating for so many families and business owners,” said Mary Garness, St. Louis County director of public records and property valuation. “We want to make sure people receive any property tax relief for which they are eligible. Our staff has worked hard to visit each property and meet with people and help them through this process.”

Damage assessments by federal, state and local emergency management teams are ongoing and FEMA might add more counties and assistance as damage is assessed. FEMA and the Homeland Security Emergency Management will establish disaster recovery centers to help people navigate the process and house state agency representatives to assist individuals and businesses understand all the programs that are available to them. 

If you need help: Individuals in eligible counties can create an application online by visiting disasterassistance.gov or call the FEMA hotline at 800-621-3362. Specialists are available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., central time.