News: Hennepin County seeks to join disaster declaration

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For release: July 9, 2014

Contact: 

Eric Waage, Emergency Management, 612-237-1933 

Maria Elena Baca, Public Affairs, 612-348-7865


News release 

In wake of flooding, Hennepin County seeks to join disaster declaration

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to request inclusion in a state and federal disaster declaration related to damage from recent heavy rains, and resulting flooding and landslides.

As of Tuesday, damage to public and private infrastructure across the county added up to about $14.9 million, more than triple the county’s $4 million threshold for seeking aid. The number will change as local officials continue to assess damage that still is concealed by standing water.

“The cost to recover from this disaster is beyond the resources available to Hennepin County,” said Dan Bovitz, deputy director of the Hennepin County Emergency Management Department. “We’ve exceeded our threshold and we need federal resources to cover all the costs we’ve incurred.”

Hennepin County tallied some of the highest total damages of any county in the state after repeated waves of heavy precipitation and more than a month of continuous flooding.  

Across the county, the highest damage estimates included $6.3 million to repair washed out roads in Eden Prairie; $4 million in response to a mudslide that cut off West River Road below the University of Minnesota's Fairview Medical Center in Minneapolis; and $1.3 million to address damage incurred by a swollen Minnehaha Creek at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Hennepin County also requested aid to address damage to roads, railroad easements and other transportation-related assets. 

Once the preliminary damage assessments are finished, the county’s report will go to Governor Dayton’s office, likely by the end of this week, and will become part of the state’s request for aid from the federal government. 

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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.