FEMA officials will be in town next Thursday

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday issued an emergency executive order for 26 counties — including Freeborn County — in response to severe storms and flash flooding June 20-26.

The storms resulted in debris and damage to public infrastructure and utilities, along with flooding to numerous homes.

In Freeborn County damage to public infrastructure is estimated between $220,000 to $250,000, said Freeborn County Emergency Management Director Rich Hall. That includes damage to county and township roads, drainage ditches and the Freeborn Lake dam. The estimate also includes costs of emergency response to barricade off roads and pump water.

“We’re hoping to get some public assistance,” Hall said. Individual assistance is not included.

The governor’s order stated the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management activated an emergency operations plan June 20 and will continue to support affected local governments and determine the need for supplementary disaster aid. The order is one step in requesting federal disaster aid.

Hall said Freeborn County suffered about $20,000 in damages to county roads from a storm June 12 and crews had repaired the roads prior to the storm the night of June 21.

“It undid everything the county had just done,” he said. “Hopefully we can come to some kind of resolution and help offset some of our costs.”

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are expected to be in the county next Thursday to conduct a preliminary damage assessment, along with others from the state Homeland Security and Emergency Management division.

Other counties included in the order were Aitkin, Benton, Big Stone, Carver, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Hennepin, Houston, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Pine, Pope, Renville, Ramsey, Sibley, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, Winona and Wright.