Beltrami, Red Lake on disaster list for flooding

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management has announced that 13 counties and the Red Lake Tribal Nation have been added to the federal major disaster declaration issued because of spring flooding.

After preliminary damage assessments found $8.1 million in damages, HSEM requested that FEMA add Becker, Beltrami, Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Ramsey, Red Lake, Roseau, Swift, Washington and Wright counties and the Red Lake Tribal Nation to the disaster declaration.

Gov. Mark Dayton secured a major disaster declaration for 20 counties affected by spring flooding on May 10. That declaration includes two categories of aid:

E Public assistance: assistance to state and local government and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities. This applies within the counties in the disaster area.

E Hazard Mitigation Grant Program: assistance to state and local government and certain private nonprofit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards. All counties in Minnesota are eligible to apply for assistance under this program.

FEMA will fund 75 percent of the approved cost. Eligible work includes debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster and repair or replacement of damaged public facilities such as roads, bridges, buildings, utilities and recreation areas.