All that's left for officials in Houston and Fillmore counties is waiting.
State, federal and local officials wrapped up their tours of southeast Minnesota on Wednesday as part of their preliminary damage assessments from June's heavy storms. Tuesday's stop included 30 sites in Houston County, while Wednesday was spent inspecting various areas throughout Fillmore County.
The time-intensive assessment is expected to continue into Friday.
Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and FEMA were among those inspecting damage to public infrastructure and some not-for-profit organizations to determine if they qualify for federal assistance after flooding hit the region on June 20-26.
A total of 17 Minnesota counties will be inspected before a determination will be made on whether Minnesota qualifies for a federal disaster declaration. Minnesota must have suffered $7.226 million in damages to qualify, while Houston and Fillmore must hit $65,643 and $71,987, respectively, to be included in any forthcoming federal aid.
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"We'll meet and review all of the information to determine if we've met the the threshold for the state and determine if we've met the threshold for the individual counties," said Julie Anderson, External Affairs Coordinator for Homeland Security and Emergency Management. "We're still collecting everything and we'll process it all. We'll have a better idea by the end of the week."
Anderson said four teams of federal officials are conducting inspections across the state. She expects them to convene Friday to review their findings before announcing any recommendations.
Karen Brown, Fillmore County policy coordinator, said officials toured the county for almost six hours, and "they pretty much concurred with our preliminary damage assessments" of about $2.6 million.
If the thresholds are determined to have been met, HSEM will help Gov. Mark Dayton draft a letter to President Barack Obama requesting federal assistance. FEMA then will review the letter and make its own recommendation regarding an official Presidential Disaster Declaration, which only President Obama has the authority to grant.
President Obama previously issued a disaster declaration in fall 2010 when 21 counties in southeast Minnesota received more than $33 million in flooding damage, which included significant damage in Zumbro Falls and Pine Island, among others.
