Public storm damage alone is estimated to be over $100 million. Scores of families are devastated, most without flood insurance.
A state of emergency was declared with Governor Mark Dayton issuing an executive order providing state assistance for flooding in Duluth and the surrounding region.
Thankfully there were few injuries and no loss of life, but residents were crushed by the drowning of numerous animals in the Lake Superior Zoo’s Petting Zoo. Flooding was so bad a seal ended up on Grand Avenue and the polar bear escaped but was tranquilized on zoo property. They are okay and recovering in St. Paul.
The devastating storm should make taxpayers appreciate the many public employees who worked incredible hours to make things as safe as possible for citizens during the deluge. The next day they were out there again trying to figure out where to start first.
Matt Dunaiski was operating a grader Thursday in an alley off 7th Avenue East so cars could get out. A member of AFSCME Local 66, Matt works in street maintenance.
“We had members out from 2 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the storm, and we’ll be out here from 6 a.m. to dark today,” Dunaiski said. “Who knows about the weekend. We’ll be out here then too, I guess. We’re just in clean up mode now to make streets and alleys passable. They haven’t even had a chance to hold a meeting yet to figure out how to go about with all the repairs that are needed.”
A couple of blocks down from where Dunaiski was working, the front end of car was buried in a sink hole. The driver had taken a turn off First Street up the steep 7th Avenue and the front end sunk to blacktop level. On the back of the car were many bumper stickers including “You were wild once...Don’t let them tame you.” ~ Isadora Duncan. Another declared “We salvage Lightnin’.”
During the storm, public safety officers implored everyone to stay home and off the roads but that only seemed to make many rubber neckers more eager to drive around and look at damage. At the Woodland and St. Marie intersection, kayakers were enjoying the day in the streets as a whirlpool was spinning a short distance away. Dunaiski said floating dumpsters were banging together like bumper cars near the kayakers.
“Those dumpsters got caught in the whirlpool and disappeared under Woodland
Avenue and didn’t come out the other side,” he said. “Those kayakers must have had a death wish.”
Elsewhere in the city people were swimming in the sewage-infested toxic water in the streets. Homeowners and other property owners went about the task of repairing damage.
Through it all, public employees were working and are still working to make the city whole again.
Many agencies are working to secure help for storm victims, including duluthmn.gov and givemn.org. Lynette Swanberg, Community Services Committee
Liaison for the AFL-CIO and United Way of Greater Duluth, is helping to coordinate union volunteers for the cleanup. For more information, see http://unitedwayduluth.org/ the website for the United Way of Greater Duluth.
Larry Sillanpa edits The Labor World, the official publication of the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body.
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Public storm damage alone is estimated to be over $100 million. Scores of families are devastated, most without flood insurance.
A state of emergency was declared with Governor Mark Dayton issuing an executive order providing state assistance for flooding in Duluth and the surrounding region.
Thankfully there were few injuries and no loss of life, but residents were crushed by the drowning of numerous animals in the Lake Superior Zoo’s Petting Zoo. Flooding was so bad a seal ended up on Grand Avenue and the polar bear escaped but was tranquilized on zoo property. They are okay and recovering in St. Paul.
The devastating storm should make taxpayers appreciate the many public employees who worked incredible hours to make things as safe as possible for citizens during the deluge. The next day they were out there again trying to figure out where to start first.
Matt Dunaiski was operating a grader Thursday in an alley off 7th Avenue East so cars could get out. A member of AFSCME Local 66, Matt works in street maintenance.
“We had members out from 2 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the storm, and we’ll be out here from 6 a.m. to dark today,” Dunaiski said. “Who knows about the weekend. We’ll be out here then too, I guess. We’re just in clean up mode now to make streets and alleys passable. They haven’t even had a chance to hold a meeting yet to figure out how to go about with all the repairs that are needed.”
A couple of blocks down from where Dunaiski was working, the front end of car was buried in a sink hole. The driver had taken a turn off First Street up the steep 7th Avenue and the front end sunk to blacktop level. On the back of the car were many bumper stickers including “You were wild once…Don’t let them tame you.” ~ Isadora Duncan. Another declared “We salvage Lightnin’.”
During the storm, public safety officers implored everyone to stay home and off the roads but that only seemed to make many rubber neckers more eager to drive around and look at damage. At the Woodland and St. Marie intersection, kayakers were enjoying the day in the streets as a whirlpool was spinning a short distance away. Dunaiski said floating dumpsters were banging together like bumper cars near the kayakers.
“Those dumpsters got caught in the whirlpool and disappeared under Woodland
Avenue and didn’t come out the other side,” he said. “Those kayakers must have had a death wish.”
Elsewhere in the city people were swimming in the sewage-infested toxic water in the streets. Homeowners and other property owners went about the task of repairing damage.
Through it all, public employees were working and are still working to make the city whole again.
Many agencies are working to secure help for storm victims, including duluthmn.gov and givemn.org. Lynette Swanberg, Community Services Committee
Liaison for the AFL-CIO and United Way of Greater Duluth, is helping to coordinate union volunteers for the cleanup. For more information, see http://unitedwayduluth.org/ the website for the United Way of Greater Duluth.
Larry Sillanpa edits The Labor World, the official publication of the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body.