ELLENDALE, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Cleanup and recovery from a July 19th storm that rolled through Southeastern North Dakota continues.

“The City of Ellendale received 7.5 inches of rain between 5 to 6 hours,” reports Dickey County Emergency Manger Charlie Russell. “This totally overwhelmed the storm sewers as well as the sanitary sewer system. Raw sewage and flood water, in some cases 3 to 4 feet, filled multiple basements in homes and two of our major churches.”

Russell says to date, significantly damaged property sits at 24 houses, 2 churches and 1 apartment complex. He says the biggest issues are that thee damage falls under no agency’s umbrella to help.

“There is no help coming from the usual government assistance agencies,” Russell explains. “Quoting FEMA, this is called an insurable Damage incident.”

Russell says this provides a problem for those with fixed income and vulnerable adult populations. He says homeowner decisions must be made in this situation.

“VOAD, the umbrella group for all of the volunteer disaster agencies is our “go to” source for un-met needs assistance,” Russell stated. “[They’re] mobilizing to come to our aid, but since they are no longer contracted by the State of ND, they are severely handicapped in how much they can help.”

Russell says he’s worried about the major repercussions the major flooding caused in the city and the area.