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By Daniel McGonigle
Argus Managing Editor
Rainfall amounts of five to 10 inches in parts of Houston County caused severe flash floods this past weekend.
Emergency Management officials report 10.1 inches of rain fell in Brownsville and portions of the county had to be evacuated.
The Board of Commissioners declared a State of Emergency for Houston County on Monday. Staff from the State of Minnesota Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) are assisting.
The following roads remain closed
According to Houston County Maintenance Superintendent Tom Molling, County Road 23 from Eitzen to County Road 5 will be “closed indefinitely.”
County Road 249 from State Highway 26 to Freeburg is also closed, but Molling expects the road to reopen in approximately seven days.
County Road 25 from Highway 16 to County Road 21 is also closed.
County Road 5 in Winnebago Valley remains closed as well.
Significant damage was reported in Jefferson, Winnebago, Mayville, Spring Grove, the south portion of Black Hammer, Willmington, Caledonia and Mayville townships.
County Road 31 is expected to reopen by the end of this week.
The storm
Heavy rainfall began falling on the area Saturday evening.
“We started getting severe weather Saturday,” noted Kurt Kuhlers, Emergency Management Director for Houston County. “We issued a flash flood warning.”
As the five to 10 inches of rain came down, emergency officials sprung into action.
“Several areas had to be evacuated,” said Kuhlers.
The Brownsville Community center and the Caledonia City Auditorium were used as Emergency Shelters.
“Six people reported to the Brownsville temporary shelter,” said Kuhlers.
The Caledonia location registered 62 people, though by Sunday night only seven were still there. The others found alternate shelter via family or friends.
As of 10:00 a.m. on Monday the temporary shelters were no longer necessary as the people had returned home.
Damage assessments underway
Officials are in the process of gathering information regarding the extent of the damage.
“Damage Assessment Teams are gathering flood damage data and the county’s looking into possibly obtaining a Presidential Disaster Declaration,” said Kuhlers.
Officials with the counties Soil and Water district are observing damage in fields and are attempting to assign a dollar amount in terms of loss.
If you have damage in your field, you are encouraged to contact that office and not the sheriff’s office so they can focus on emergency needs.
Professionals deserve credit
Commissioner Anne Thompson noted the swift and immediate response by emergency officials.
“I am very thankful we have such excellent crews of people to respond to such a disaster,” noted Thompson. “Their response was very fast. Of course having had past experience helps though I wish we didn’t have all this experience. But the people and staff responded so professionally and I’m thankful we had an emergency response system in place which can assist.”
Don’t take warnings lightly
The next immediate threat for severe weather comes Thursday (June 12).
With the ground being saturated, officials predict, if a storm does come, that the water will have no where to go and more flash flooding is expected.
“When we do send out warnings we expect them to be taken seriously,” cautioned sheriff Doug Ely. “And if the road closings aren’t obeyed we will be issuing citations as well.”
The sheriff also cautions motorists to be careful even on those roads that aren’t closed.
“Use extreme caution,” he notes.
If you notice damaged roads or culverts you are encouraged to report them to the authorities.
Governor tours the area
Ely took the governor around the flood damaged region to get a first hand account.
“He did get a good look,” said Ely. “His staff was very helpful. They called us about three or four times over the weekend to see how things were going. He called personally.”
Economic impact expected
The waters have yet to recede in terms of the clean up and repair from the 2007 flood and this latest event is sure to strain Houston County even further warned officials.
“We have two or three months worth of work going on from the ‘07 event,” noted Molling. “It is going to have a financial strain on Houston Counties finances.”
Emergency Management officials advise everyone in a safe place to stay there and avoid any travel. Roads that seem safe are surrounded by saturated soil which could quickly turn into a mud slide or cause trees to fall on the roads during one of these events. Particular interest should be paid to this on Thursday as an estimated three to five inches of rain could fall on the area.
If you have any questions, please call the Emergency Management Office at 507-725-5838 extension 244.
You can contact Daniel McGonigle at
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