Nearly 40% of Moose Lake Submerged by Floods
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Photojournalist:
MOOSE LAKE - The heavy rainfall is behind us, but some cities and towns are still fighting rising water.
The city of Moose Lake declared a state of emergency.
"Mother Nature's taken over,” Moose Lake resident Jay Matuseki said. "She's mad at everybody."
"Well it's kind of traumatic," Moose Lake looks more like a river than a city," said David Matuseki. "I've lived here all my life and I've never seen water this high.”
"It's a disaster, that's all I can say," said Jay.
Several days of steady rain has landed in streams and rivers that flooded Moosehead Lake and the town.
"I'm really surprised at how fast it's risen since yesterday,” said David. "It's just amazing."
Emergency responders say portions of the town are at least 5 inches under water.
"Lakes creeping up as we speak,” said Moose Lake Fire Department Chief Steve Trenhaile. "We're gaining right now about an inch every 45 minutes."
Entry into Moose Lake is closed.
Roads from the north and south of the town completely washed out.
"We're trapped," said Trenhaile.
Arrowhead Lane, which is in the heart of the city is taking the brunt of it.
Officials say nearly 50 homes and several businesses are completely submerged.
"My sister lives in Sturgeon Lake just south of here, her house is underwater,” said David. "My brother lives north of town here his house is under water. My mother lives just right across the road over here and she's surrounded by water."
Canoes, motorboats and ATV’s are now their new form of transportation.
"It's like a bad dream,” said Jay.
The holiday store is being wiped out, as this is their only source for food.
"We should have the national guard here helping us,” said Jay. "That's what I think this is a natural disaster here."
Volunteers are working on an extensive sand bag mission to save the town’s sewer system that gave way.
"A hose blew out from when we shut it down to put the hose back on it flooded out and burnt them out," Moose Lake Assistant Chief Jim Michalski said.
Officials say the spewing sewage could be disastrous if not contained.
"The businesses and homes that aren't flooded probably will end up with sewage coming in," said Michalski.
While there is no handbook on how to handle these situations, the town is not just filled with water but also a little hope.
"The community will come back,” said Moose Lake Mayor Ted Shaw. "It's a resilient community, a lot of really good people."
If anyone living in the area wants to evacuate they can go to the Depot in Moose Lake where they will be taken to the Holy Angels Catholic Church for shelter.
Emergency responders estimate the river will crest in less than 18 hours.
