Severe storms and flooding around the state have led Gov. Mark Dayton to declare a State of Emergency in 35 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.
About 100 National Guard members have been sent to Koochiching County in far northern Minnesota, where flooding is rampant near International Falls. Southern Minnesota, too, has seen flooding, as have parts of the Twin Cities.
Counties covered by the emergency are:
Beltrami, Blue Earth, Brown, Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Hubbard, Jackson, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Lyon, Koochiching, McLeod, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pipestone, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Roseau, Saint Louis, Scott, Sibley, Steele, Todd, and Waseca.
Kris Eide, Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director, said in a statement: “The state’s emergency operations center is in contact with emergency managers in the affected areas and we are coordinating the state’s response as directed by the governor’s State of Emergency.”
State agencies are closely monitoring conditions around the state and will respond to resource requests from local emergency managers, officials said.
Storms began June 11 and more rain is expected in areas that are saturated or already flooding.
