ST PAUL, Minnesota — Governor Tim Walz is feeling confident in local agencies and their flood preparations. During his press briefing Wednesday, he said state leaders are keeping a close eye on river levels as many places will see them grow to major flood stages within the next week.
"The situation can change pretty dramatically because of these oncoming systems that could be here pretty soon," Walz said.
Dan Hawblitzel, Twin Cities National Weather Service meteorologist is the lead forecaster for the state's response. He says we are about to enter what will hopefully be the peak of the weather event in the next 10 days.
"We saw double the amount of snow this past winter, and a quick warm-up," Hawblitzel said.
So far, 19 cities, counties and tribal governments in the state have issued local emergency disaster declarations, according to Homeland Security and Emergency Response Management interim Director, Kevin Reed. He says this will help these areas get resources faster.
The state has not filed a federal disaster declaration with FEMA but can if it decides it's warranted. This week, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill allocating $40 million to the disaster assistance contingency account to help with flooding efforts.
The Minnesota Department of Health is warning residents about well water contamination. They caution about the dangers of flooded wells and urge Minnesotans in flood zones with wells to start storing water.
"Contaminated wells need to be inspected, disinfected and cleaned," MDH assistant commissioner, Cheryl Petersen-Kroeber said.
As the riverbanks of the Mississippi swell, locks are closing. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has closed 5 locks from Hennepin County to Wisconsin. They hope to reopen the locks next week, and say it is too soon to know if this will have any disruption on supply chains.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: