Presidential Disaster Declaration for Olmsted County

Severe weather, heavy rainfall, and flooding that occurred June 16 through July 4, 2024, prompted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for many counties throughout Minnesota. While not included in the original federal disaster declaration, last Friday, Olmsted County Emergency Management received delayed initial damage estimates which put Olmsted County above the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) damage indicator for Public Assistance.

FEMA is now requesting damage reports from Olmsted County residents by 5 p.m. on Friday, August 9, 2024 to determine if they are eligible for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program as part of this disaster. Individual assistance may provide relief from damages to homes caused by flooding, seepage, sewer backups, or other storm damage that occurred during the Presidential Disaster Declaration period. Residents must have documentation of the damage that occurred from June 16 through July 4, 2024.

Olmsted County residents can report damage in one of three ways:

• Scan this QR code and follow the prompts.  

• If you reside in the City of Rochester, please email Captain Brett Knapp at bknapp@rochestermn.gov. If you live in Olmsted County but reside in a city or township other than the City of Rochester, please email Captain Jonathan Jacobson at jonathan.jacobson@olmstedcounty.gov. Please include the following information in your email:
  • Your full name.
  • Address where damage occurred.
  • Phone number.
  • Explanation of the type of damage that occurred.
  • When the damage occurred.
  • Indication that you have documentation of the damage that occurred in the disaster period.
• If you don’t have a smart phone, tablet, or email, and you:
  • Live in the City of Rochester, please call please call 507-328-2823.
  • Live in Olmsted County but reside in a city or township other than the City of Rochester, please call 507-328-6101.
  • If there is no answer, please leave a message with your name and phone number and a member of our emergency management team will return your call as soon as possible.  

Again, FEMA is asking for these individual property owner damage reports by 5 p.m. on August 9. Olmsted County Emergency Management is collecting this data on behalf of FEMA to streamline response efforts. Once the information is received, FEMA, along with other Emergency Management personnel, will contact homeowners to schedule a brief inspection. Inspections normally last less than 10 minutes.

Small businesses are not included in FEMA’s Individual Assistance program. However, the Small Business Administration (SBA) does help following Presidential Disaster Declarations. If you are a business owner and your property and/or business was affected by weather-related events within the disaster period, you are also encouraged to report damage using one of the three ways outlined above.