Duluth Cleaning Up From Damaging Lake Superior Nor'easter
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Crews and homeowners are mopping up from a destructive October storm along the North Shore.
Enormous waves from Lake Superior came roaring ashore Wednesday, damaging the lakewalk and flooding streets in Duluth.
The nor'easter left behind its calling card: Damage and debris scattered about. If residents were not cleaning up, chances are they definitely were checking it out.
Sucking up sewage from her basement is the last thing Keely Youngblom wants to do. Heavy rain and storm surge from the Great Lake overwhelmed city sewer lines serving homes along Minnesota Point.
"Dealing with mopping up water on the carpet," Youngblom said. "Sewage from the saturated sewer system came up through my basement and shower drain, and covered my whole finished basement."
Winds up to 86 miles an hour whipped up damaging waves, chewing up Duluth's popular lakewalk, downing trees and making a mess of Brighton Beach.
"It was invigorating, it was scary, it was amazing," said resident Jeanette McDonald.
Army Corp crews spent the day clearing rock and boulders churned up by the waves, which now covers the sidewalk of Canal Park.
"I'm 62 and it's the worst I've ever seen it," said Leigh Schwartz of the Army Corp of Engineers. "Normally it's supposed to be a park, all green grass, trimmed and pretty decent. The storm that we had yesterday just really, really did it in."
But Lake Superior's fury is also an attraction, drawing onlookers to pick through the pieces and soak in the sights. Nature photographer Sam Brueggeman captured a bit of beauty in nature's beast. A mix of damage and enduring images.
"The biggest waves I've seen kind of ever out here," Brueggeman said. "To think that this is a lake, and it can tear up, you know, concrete and push rocks way up to the shore and things like that is just kind of baffling. It's pretty impressive."
Public works crews have been out all day doing initial damage assessment, but how long the cleanup and repairs will take is anybody's guess.
