Minnesota Towns Continue to Struggle with Flood Damage

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Parts of east-central Minnesota are still trying to cope with floodwaters and subsequent damage nearly a week after torrential rains fell across a huge swath of the state.

Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith told Minnesota Public Radio that communities flooded one at a time, starting with Ford Township and then Knife Lake.

The Snake River rose to historic levels in Mora, flooding homes and ruining campsites on Fish Lake shores. Local volunteers are working to clear away some 20,000 sandbags as floodwaters drop.

“I think we’re out of the emergency part of the flood, and now were getting into the recovery mode, which is usually the harder work,” Smith said.

The Snake River feeds into the St. Croix River, which also rose to high levels this week. Smith says that downstream from Mora, Grasston is still well above flood stage.

Dam flows at Taylors Falls on the state border rose to 10 times the seasonal average, and the strong currents killed a local man who was trying to photograph the rushing water.

“The last time we saw water higher than this was in 2001,” Frischmon said. “To have this much water on the St Croix River in mid-July is unprecedented.”