Neighbors in northern Minnesota come together following devastating storm
Community members come together in northern Minnesota after severe weather
Community members come together in northern Minnesota after severe weather
A devastating storm ripped through northern Minnesota Friday night into Saturday bringing winds of over 100 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service's Grand Forks branch.
Mayor Jorge Prince says Bemidji serves as a hub for roughly 60,000-65,000 residents within its limits and surrounding areas. He says each one of those people have been affected in one way or another.
Nearly 48 hours after hurricane-force winds took over the town, a mother-son duo describe Bemidji.
"Destroyed," said Aidan Hopkins while sitting with his mom about the way Bemidji was left after the storm.
"It's unimaginable," said resident Jake Schultz. "We don't have much shade left that's for sure"
"It tore up trees, it destroyed businesses," said Prince. "It really tore our city upside down."
Residents are learning day in and day out how to deal with storm recovery.
"We got lucky in a lot of ways. It could've been a lot worse," said Darcy Douglas who lives near the center of the city.
Douglas told WCCO a tree fell through her roof and into the room where her niece sleeps. Her niece was not there at the time.
"Knowing what to do next. Nothing like this has ever happened before," said Douglas when asked what the hardest part has been. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."
Beltrami County and the City of Bemidji declared a state of emergency within 24 hours of the storm.
"You re-meet all your neighbors again," said Tom Smith as he removed a tree off his home. "We're out here talking about what happened at your place or whatever."
Some residents say they have no power, water or food. Yet, they say they aren't letting mother nature's power stop them. Instead, they're all coming together and lending each other a helping hand.
"We're all okay!" said Sue Lund, who was also dealing with tree removal. "It's a team effort," her husband Charles Lund added.
The Red Cross says it's offering a 24-hour shelter at the Stanford Center, the arena and convention center in town.
"I cried all day yesterday, and off and on today," Douglas told WCCO.
"I'm not sure that our city's ever going to look the same," said Prince. "As far as getting our structures repaired, roads open, many many weeks here."
The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners announced a special meeting for June 23 to discuss the destruction.
If you're looking to help, the North Country Food Bank, Red Cross and United Way are assisting the community.
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