Gov. Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency in 35 counties because of the recent storms and flooding.

The list includes the area counties of Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Steele and Waseca.

“We’re ramping up our efforts to help communities across the state that are dealing with storm damage and high water due to the recent heavy rains,” said Kris Eide, director of the state division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

As of 8 a.m. today, the Albert Lea wastewater treatment plant had recorded 6.93 inches of rain since 8 a.m. Sunday, said Superintendent Rick Ashling.

The state-of-emergency declaration makes a wide range of state resources available to affected communities and gets state agencies more involved in the response.

The Department of Public Safety has fully activated its State Emergency Operations Center, which it partially activated earlier this week.

Storms that have caused flooding and other damage began June 11 and are continuing. The National Weather Service is predicting additional rain for regions that are saturated or are experiencing rising river and lake levels.

Five inches of rain fell in Albert Lea during the last three days, and East Main Street and Lakeview Boulevard are closed because of flooding.

The governor has  directed the Minnesota National Guard to send 100 soldiers to Koochiching County to help in the fight against flooding on the Rainy River and Rainy Lake in the International Falls area.

Other counties in the declaration are Beltrami, Blue Earth, Brown, Dodge, Goodhue, Grant, Hubbard, Jackson, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Lyon, Koochiching, McLeod, Morrison, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pipestone, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Roseau, Saint Louis, Scott, Sibley and Todd.

Dayton planned to join Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz today in assessing damage in southern Minnesota, where many areas have swollen lakes and rivers and flooded fields. In some places, roads have been washed out or covered by sliding mud.

Dayton earlier surveyed problems in northern Minnesota, where some lakes are at record highs. Flooding problems also exist in and around the Twin Cities.