For release: July 9, 2014
Contact:
Eric Waage, Emergency Management, 612-237-1933
Maria Elena Baca, Public Affairs, 612-348-7865
News release
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.
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