(C) Minnesota Reformer
This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Disaster declaration frees funds for flood relief [1]
['Christopher Ingraham', 'More From Author', '- July']
Date: 2023-07
President Biden has issued a major disaster declaration for parts of Minnesota affected by severe storms and flooding in the latter half of April 2023, according to a White House announcement.
The declaration opens up funding to state, local and tribal governments to help with clean-up and repair efforts in the affected areas, which include 23 counties plus the Prairie Island Indian Community in Goodhue County. It’s not clear how much money will arrive, as funding has not yet been allocated.
Gov. Tim Walz formally requested federal assistance at the end of June, with the support of Minnesota’s entire congressional delegation.
During the spring flooding, the Mississippi River in Red Wing hit its highest water level since 2001. Other flooding occurred along the St. Croix, St. Louis, Crow and Red Rivers.
With the floodwaters long since having receded, much of Minnesota is now facing the prospect of severe drought, according to the latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. At least 70% of the state is in drought, according to the Monitor, with the remainder listed as “abnormally dry.”
During the past week, several regions near Rochester and the Twin Cities entered “extreme” drought, the second-most severe category.
Oscillations between flooding and drought are likely to become more common, and more intense, as Earth’s climate continues to warm and weather patterns become more erratic.
Houston County, in the far southeast corner of the state, now holds the dubious distinction of holding simultaneous disaster designations for flood and drought. In addition to being part of Biden’s flood disaster announcement, the county was listed under a separate USDA drought designation released earlier this week.
MPR News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard notes there’s currently no relief from the drought conditions in sight, as a hot, dry pattern is expected to move in next week that could push temperatures above 100 degrees in the Twin Cities and areas southward.
In 2022, three separate disasters were declared in Minnesota for late spring and early summer storms and flooding. All told more than $35 million dollars were earmarked to respond to those efforts.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/disaster-declaration-frees-funds-for-flood-relief/
Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/
