DULUTH, minn. — Nicole Lamphier and her family planned to ride out the flooding inundating their Duluth neighborhood at a friend’s home nearby, but when they ran out of diapers for their 9-month-old, they called in the Coast Guard to get them out.
Lamphier, her husband and three young children were evacuated by boat Thursday from their low-lying neighborhood of Fon du Lac, where about 200 residents who left for higher ground during and after two days of heavy rain don’t know when it’ll be safe to return home.
“The damage is indescribable,” said Lamphier, 30. “It’s kind of heartbreaking. You see people down there that have lost everything. I’m just glad to be out.”
City, county and state officials spent Thursday assessing damage, while areas farther south continued to fight rising waters. The town of Moose Lake was being described as “an island.”
Gov. Mark Dayton, who toured flood-ravaged areas Thursday, said he was committed to providing state resources, and would work to speed the process of getting appropriate federal aid. Duluth’s mayor, Don Ness, estimated that there was $50 million to $80 million in damage caused to the city’s public infrastructure alone.
“It’s just horrific to see the wipeouts of whole roads that I’ve been traveling on for years,” Dayton said.
Despite the extensive damage, no deaths or injuries were reported in Minnesota, which Dayton called “remarkable.” Three people died in crashes in central Wisconsin early Thursday after heavy rain washed away a 50-foot stretch of highway.
The National Weather Service in Duluth said there’s no significant rainfall in the forecast for at least the next few days, but many rivers and streams in northeast Minnesota would remain above flood stage well into next week as water continues to flow downstream.
