An assessment of flood damage is now under way by federal officials on the U.S. side of Rainy Lake.
Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, are in Minnesota’s Koochiching County, making door-to-door visits.
They are joined by others from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The County was declared a federal disaster area by President Biden last week.
The assessment is helping determine the extent of financial aid required.
The Koochiching County Assessor’s Office is also planning to conduct its own assessment with County Assessors hoping to get out in the field within the next week or two.
“One of the challenges of beginning damage assessment is that water levels must be down enough for Assessors to be able to access and walk around an entire property and view damages, including the shoreline and docks, and many are still under water,” says Len Peterson, County Assessor. “It is not yet known at this point exactly what relief will be available to homes and properties located in the disaster area.”
The federal officials expect to wrap up their work by the end of this week.
Questions regarding the Damage Assessment Process can be directed to the Assessor’s Office at 218-283-7002 or email len.peterson@co.koochiching.mn.us.
