Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Sunday, February 17, 2008
Counting flood damage in dollars and cents
When the August flood battered streams, homes and businesses in southeast Minnesota, the disaster also plundered a broader target: the local economy.
Six months later, local business officials say it’s too early to compile a full ledger of the storm’s toll in dollars and cents.
“It’s going to be awhile before we see the full impact,” said Linda Grover, director of the Winona County Economic Development Authority.
In one night, floodwaters destroyed roughly $28.5 million in Winona County property, according to County Assessor Steve Hacken.
The larger picture carries a far larger pricetag.
In October, Winona County officials pegged total recovery costs at $77.85 million. That includes damage to both private property and infrastructure, property buyouts in flood-prone areas, demolition and environmental costs.
Then there are the “hidden” economic costs, like lost productivity for businesses, Grover said. She added that a “trickle-down” effect could harm businesses that weren’t directly affected.
In Rushford, for example, officials say businesses have been quick to re-open — only to struggle in a community that’s still impoverished by the disaster.
Conversely, the flood also brought an infusion of outside dollars from state, federal and private relief agencies.
The state already has allocated $77 million for flood recovery in seven counties, according to the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The relief funds are helping revitalize the area’s battered economy, Grover said. But she said the economic losses from the flood are far more evident than the gains.
“I’m not seeing the economic boost on the positive side — mostly, it’s a downturn,” Grover said.
Local residents whose jobs were displaced by flooding also are in danger of losing access to a government program to employ them.
The Winona Workforce Center has enrolled more than 100 participants — including some who were unemployed before the flood — to clean up flood debris, using a National Emergency Grant from the Department of Labor.
But federal guidelines only allow victims to work for an equivalent of six months in full-time hours, or up to a wage cap of $12,000.
Those rules could leave workers unemployed in the coming months, said program director Steve Runkle. Runkle said he’s lobbied Rep. Tim Walz, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Norm Coleman to adjust the federal guidelines.
Some victims are struggling to repay loans or collect insurance settlements, said Della Schmidt, director of the Winona Chamber of Commerce.
Schmidt said she’s spoken with homeowners who purchased flood insurance before the flood, only to learn they weren’t covered after the fact. One homeowner had more than seven feet of water on their main floor, Schmidt said.
“There’s no question there are families amongst us that continue to struggle,” Schmidt said. “Their recovery is probably months and years to come.”
county assessor’s office: Building Damage estimates
Damage estimates of buildings (not infrastructure or land values) from county assessor’s offices:
Winona County: $28.5 million
Rollingstone Township: $6.9 million
Goodview: $7.7 million
Stockton: $3.9 million
St. Charles: $3.6 million
Elba: $1.5 million
Minnesota City proper: $296,000
Fillmore County: $24.1 million
Rushford city: $23.5 million
Rushford village: $433,685
Mabel city: $113,440
Spring Valley Township: $40,000
Spring Valley city: $20,000
Houston County: $3.7 million
Brownsville city: $671,000
Houston city: $624,000
Money Creek Township: $611,700
Hokah city: $601,700
Hokah Township: $292,400
La Crescent Township: $235,600
Houston Township: $234,700
La Crescent city: $232,900
Mound Prairie Township: $ 67,100
Brownsville Township: $47,600
Caledonia city: $39,700
Mayville Township: $34,600
Caledonia Township: $22,600
Olmsted County: $3.6 million
Rochester: $1.6 million
Eyota: $1.5 million
Dover: $410,000
Byron: $65,000
Steele County: $1.8 million
Includes city of Owatonna and townships of Somerset, Havana, Owatonna and Meriden
Dodge County: $535,000
Includes Kasson, Dodge Center and Mantorville
Wabasha County: $420,0007
Elgin: $390,000
Plainview: $30,000
*Disclaimer: Building damage estimates do not necessarily reflect actual costs to rebuild.
OTHER STATISTICS
421 families in the seven Minnesota counties are working with long-term recovery case managers, according
to Southeast Minnesota Regional Flood Recovery coordinator Peg Winters
As of Feb. 6, southeastern Minnesota has received more than $77 million of the $157 million the state awarded in its special session, including:
Business recovery: $32.25 million
Housing recovery (Quick Start): $7.25 million
Employment recovery: $1 million
Infrastructure recovery: $33 million
Agriculture recovery: $3.7 million
Human services and education: $200,000
Federal assistance
FEMA: $19.5 million to more than 3,800 individual and household applicants; $44.8 million to fund public assistance projects, with the state providing 25 percent
SBA: 805 loans totaling $42 million for renters, homeowners, businesses and nonprofit groups.
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