MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Don Ness, mayor of Duluth, about conditions of city in the aftermath of extrodinary rainfall in a 24-hour period. Ness declared a state of emergency today.
The official Duluth total rainfall on June 19-20, 2012, was 7.25”, with Duluth International Airport breaking several rainfall records during this weather event. Locally high amounts in the 8–10-inch range were reported throughout Duluth neighborhoods and along the North Shore of Lake Superior. The steep terrain, and numerous creeks and rivers, played a significant role in the devastating damage and flooding that occurred in the Duluth community. The Fond Du Lac and West Spirit Mountain neighborhoods of Duluth and Thomson Township in Carlton County were evacuated, and a raging Kingsbury Creek flooded the Lake Superior Zoo, drowning over a dozen animals.