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Gov. Tim Walz announced today that Minnesotans in 19 counties working to recover from this year’s flooding can now request individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help recover from losses they suffered. 

Included in those counties are Mower and Steele counties.

Other counties included as part of the declaration include: Blue Earth, Cook, Cottonwood, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Itasca, Jackson, Lake, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Nobles, Rice, Rock, St. Louis, Waseca, and Watonwan. 

Additional county designations may be added to the declaration if requested and warranted by the results of damage assessments.

The declaration will provide resources to reimburse individuals and communities for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure.

Walz requested the amendment to the original June 28 declaration after damage assessments documented significant destruction to homes and businesses across the state. 

“Minnesotans’ homes, belongings, and family businesses were devastated by flooding this summer, and we aren’t stopping until they get the support they need to recover. This assistance is going to make a world of a difference for the individuals and businesses that were impacted,” Walz said. “I’m grateful to our partners in the federal government for their continued commitment to our recovery efforts, and to the Minnesotans who carefully documented the extent of this damage.”

 The individual assessment declaration is the next step in the state’s ongoing work to assist affected communities. Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) division Director Kristi Rollwagen said the newly announced designation could not have come without the work of the state’s residents, business owners, and local emergency managers.

“Even as so many people worked to rebuild from the devastation these floods caused, they all came together to get the counties and state officials everything we needed to get this important designation,” Rollwagen said.

 While individual assistance is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster, it is a significant step in helping people meet their basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts.

 In the coming days, FEMA, in partnership with HSEM, will establish disaster recovery centers to assist people in navigating the process and house state agency representatives to ensure individuals and businesses understand all the programs that are available. More information on how to access these centers will be forthcoming from FEMA.