Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other state officials went on an aerial tour of southern Minnesota on Tuesday to survey flood damage and gave an update when they returned to St. Paul.

Walz said that Henderson had extensive road damage, with less damage to homes. The tour also went to Le Sueur and St. Peter, which both saw road closures. Walz said he saw that many homes in Waterville that were impacted by flooding.

Klobuchar added that over 70,000 sandbags had been laid in Waterville.

Walz said he saw many fields, presumably crops, that were underwater across southern Minnesota.

Major Shawn Manke of the Minnesota National Guard stated that over 40 soldiers had been sent to Waterville. They are operating seven water pumping stations and 14 pumps there to alleviate the flooding.

The National Guard, in partnership with Red Cross, is also opening an emergency shelter in Waterville.

Flood water is going down but several streets in town remain closed because of the high water.

“Our community is very resilient,” Teresa Hill, Waterville city administrator said. “Everybody helps out. It’s just very amazing and it just shows the love everybody has.”

Thom Petersen, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, said that farmers experiencing damage or crop loss due to flooding should report it to their county officials. The state agency is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine if any counties in Minnesota are eligible for federal disaster relief.

Petersen also shared that 17 feed lots have overflowed in 15 different locations in the area. No manure was discharged into any bodies of water, but rather into fields. The mixture was mostly stormwater but there was manure as well, Petersen said.

Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Minnesota Bob Jacobson said that the state emergency operation center has been activated to assist local agencies.

He added that the agency is working to meet the needs of residents in the affected areas right now, adding that there are currently no unmet needs.

Jacobson also said the agency is working with FEMA to see if the flooding damage qualifies for federal relief.

“I really think this is going to meet the needs for a federal declaration,” said Jacobson.

According to Sen. Klobuchar, a FEMA disaster declaration is triggered when there is $10.5 million in damage to public infrastructure across the state. Individual counties then qualify for funding to repair public infrastructure when damage thresholds based on their population are reached.

If there is a presidentially declared disaster, FEMA’s website links to an application for assistance. A description of damage caused and insurance information is needed for the application.

“Every single stop I’ve taken, I’ve heard the locals say ‘We’re keeping our receipts, we’re keeping our receipts’ because they know that means federal help is on the way,” said Sen. Klobuchar.

Service organizations are helping to fill the gap for now. The Salvation Army Twin Cities has flood clean-up kits ready to go to those affected most. 

“What we’re focused on at the Salvation Army is feeding, hydration, and flood kits, which you see behind me,” said Dorothy Maples, the director of disaster services for the Twin Cities Salvation Army. “Cleaning supplies and safety stuff – glasses and N95 masks to protect individuals who are cleaning up their homes.”

A Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services team is providing roughly 150 meals a day to those in Waterville. Another team of volunteers is north in Cook to prepare 400 meals a day.

“It’s hard for people to get their hopes up that there’s’ light at the end of the tunnel,” said Captain Jeff Curran with The Brainerd Lakes Salvation Army. “We want to give them that hope.”

Residents in the Town of Jackson, Minnesota have been forced to evacuate because of flooding from the Des Moines River.

Jackson is located about an hour southwest of the Rapidan Dam, which Blue Earth County officials said on Monday is in “imminent failure condition.”

State officials stated Tuesday that they believe the dam will hold. There aren’t currently any other dams in the state in imminent danger of failing.

Jackson city workers have given volunteers life jackets as they help with sandbagging efforts. Crews are also working to bolster dikes in hopes of protecting critical infrastructure, as officials expect the river to continue rising this week.

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With 15 feet of flooding, city officials say they haven’t seen water levels like this since 1969. The levels are so high that some families have had to use canoes to get to and from their homes.

Gov. Tim Walz has called the flooding situation “unprecedented” for the state, saying as of Monday, 40 counties had been impacted by flooding so far, with seven of them already putting in the paperwork for emergency federal relief money.

“At this point in time – and we want to keep it this way – we’ve had no serious injuries, and certainly no deaths in this very widespread event,” said Walz during a news conference on Monday. “I think as we see these chaotic climate events, we need to think about how we’re building back more resiliently.”

Last week, he visited northern Minnesota, where flooding swamped towns in St. Louis County and caused the U.S. Forest Service to shut down entry points to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

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