State officials are asking homeowners in seven Minnesota counties to report any damage to their home from a Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 severe storm and flooding event.

According to a press release, homeowners should contact their county emergency manager as soon as possible because staff from FEMA and the Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management division will be conducted additional damage assessments this week.

Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he will appeal FEMA’s denial of his request for assistance to individuals whose homes sustained damage during the flooding event this fall.

Dayton requested a federal disaster declaration Oct. 19 and President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in nine Minnesota counties last Wednesday.

Those counties are eligible for Public Assistance, or reimbursement of the cost to repair public infrastructure. FEMA’s decision regarding Individual Assistance was not included in that declaration.

During damage assessments in October, FEMA and HSEM identified more than 1,100 homes impacted by flooding and $10.1 million in estimated individual and household needs. Since that time, more than 600 damaged homes were discovered in those areaswhen homeowners came forward to report damage. Many of those homes received major damage or were destroyed.

Officials are asking anyone in Blue Earth, Freeborn, Hennepin, Le Sueur, Rice, Steele and Waseca who has not reported damage to contact their county emergency manager.

Residents in counties outside those seven counties should also report damage to their county emergency manager. If significant damage is discovered in additional counties, those counties could be added to the Governor’s appeal. Minnesotans can find their county emergency manager online http://bit.ly/2fjDWOd.

Once the additional damage assessment is completed in the affected counties, HSEM will provide the updated information to Governor Dayton who will use the data as a basis for his appeal to FEMA.

About the Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) comprises 11 divisions where 2,100 employees operate programs in the areas of law enforcement, crime victim assistance, traffic safety, alcohol and gambling, emergency communications, fire safety, pipelinesafety, driver licensing, vehicle registration and emergency management.

About the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency  Management

Homeland Security and Emergency Management helps Minnesotans prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters.