Flood in Wabasha County, Minnesota

Major flooding occurred in the town of Hammond due to record flooding on the Zumbro River. Of the 75 homes in the town, 19 were damaged and 20 were destroyed. Power, water and septic services were down in the town for several days. Businesses in the town also saw extensive damage.

A stationary front set up across southern Minnesota on the evening of September 22nd. As an unusually moist air mass flowed over this boundary, heavy rain developed and fell repeatedly across the area during the evening and overnight hours. Soils were abnormally wet for this time of year, therefore the extreme rainfall amounts that fell caused widespread significant river flooding and flash flooding. Infrastructure was greatly affected with millions of dollars of damage, while private properties were also heavily damaged. Dodge, Olmsted, Wabasha, Winona, and Mower counties were included in federal disaster declarations (FEMA-1941-DR).