3 October 2023
DULUTH Local officials will seek state aid to help cover the cost of recovering from heavy rains Sept. 24 and 25 that caused widespread flooding and washouts.
More than 4 inches of rain fell within 24 hours, resulting in extensive damage in southeast St. Louis County.
On Tuesday, the St. Louis County Board passed an emergency declaration that could open the door for officials to seek reimbursement of 75% of the costs incurred to respond to the flooding and make needed repairs in the wake of the heavy rains. In all, estimated costs and damage to public infrastructure will likely total about $1.25 million, said Dewey Johnson, St. Louis County emergency operations support administrator. Initial assessments show the city of Duluth incurring about $1 million in costs, St. Louis County spending $150,000 and Lakewood Township taking a $75,000 hit.
Duluth Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj said parks bore the brunt of the damage, with washed-out trails, bridges and culverts. He said the city also incurred some overtime costs responding to the flooding.
This September will go down in the record books as the wettest month in a decade.
And some parts of the county received more than their fair share of precipitation, with more than 7 inches of rain reported near the French River over a three-day period.
Sept. 23-25, 2023, now ranks as the second-wettest three-day period for St. Louis County ever recorded, ranking behind only the flood of June 2012, when more than 10 inches of rain fell in the span of three days, causing costly destruction.
Local officials credit improvements made in the wake of that storm for preventing worse damage this time around.
“There’s no doubt that some of the mitigation work we’ve done since 2012 made a difference,” Krizaj said.
Johnson said emergency declarations due to severe weather have become more common of late, with the county averaging two to three events annually. The county is still awaiting federal disaster aid related to floods this spring. The requested assistance includes more than $3 million for the city of Duluth.
As for the most recent rain event, Johnson said damage was not sufficiently extensive to qualify for federal aid, largely because the event was so localized.
He said state officials are expected to visit next week to assess and document the costs associated with the latest flood. But Johnson expressed confidence that local county, township and municipal governments will be able to access aid through the Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management division.
Any emergency assistance local governmental units receive will only cover damage to public infrastructure. Owners of private property will be left to their own devices and whatever insurance coverage they may have.
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