Duluth gets federal disaster declaration for October storm damage

Waves pound the shoreline in Canal Park.
Waves pound the shoreline of Canal Park on Oct. 10, 2018, in Duluth as a strong fall storm affected northern Minnesota.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News 2018

President Trump issued a federal disaster declaration Friday for St. Louis County for damage from a storm last October that brought high winds and damaging waves to the Lake Superior shore in Duluth.

The city of Duluth estimated the Oct. 10 storm caused more than $18 million in damage to the Lakewalk, Brighton Beach and other infrastructure along the lakeshore and the Duluth-Superior harbor. The storm also caused flooding in Canal Park.

In November, then-Gov. Mark Dayton requested the federal disaster declaration. With Trump's order on Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for 75 percent of approved public infrastructure repairs. The state of Minnesota will cover the other 25 percent.

The damage in Duluth from October's storm was on top of damage caused by storms last April and in October 2017.

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