New resources available for St. Louis County flood victims

DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - As the water continues to impact St. Louis County, leaders met on Thursday to update the public on the flooding situation and provided resources for residents impacted.

The National Weather Service said in the past 60 days, lakes across the county are about 4 to 6 inches above average, with some even higher up north.

Because of this, St Louis County declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Dewey Johnson of the Emergency Management team says even though local mitigation effors are helping, declaring a state of emergency can provide additional resources for impacted residents.

“That opens up some avenues for possible, potential reimbursements especially for public infrastructure such as roads, harbors, bridges, those kind of things and possibly the federal funding streams for small business loans,” said Johnson.

As for home and business owners, Johnson said if there is at least 50% structural damage to your private business or land, you may be qualified for tax relief.

All that information and more is included on St Louis County’s new website, sharing resources for those impacted by flooding.

It also includes a new map showing roads that are closed due to flooding or water damage.

Above all, their message is to be safe and alert residents to any dangerous situations.

“Report it to the public safety folks and turn around, don’t drown!” said Moore.

Click here to go to the new website.

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