Dayton: 'It's going to take time' to rebuild Duluth

Gov. Dayton and Mayor Don Ness surveyed the sinkholes and buckled streets of Duluth left by epic flooding, the Duluth News Tribune reports.

Officials said damages are estimated at $50 million to $80 million for just public facilities and infrastructure in the city of Duluth.

Dayton issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the popular tourist region and three other counties hit hard by recent storms, the Star Tribune says. That declaration allows for emergency vehicles to move supplies to the area and the activation of the National Guard, if needed, the newspaper reports.

Meanwhile, Moose Lake and Willow River southwest of Duluth were evacuated Thursday as rivers and lakes continued to rise, swollen by runoff, the Duluth News Tribune reports.

Elsewhere, seven campers were stranded by the flooding in a northern Minnesota state park after their only exit route was washed out, the Associated Press reports.

Most of the books in UW-Superior's Jim Dan Hill Library were under water, WDIO says.

Was the region's tourism industry still open for business amid the destruction? Some say yes. A little caution and creativity will get you where you want to go, several officials said in the Pioneer Press. But the Bemidji Pioneer says travelers are urged to stay away.

This won't come as a shocker, but the 10 inches or so that fell officially made it the wettest two days in Duluth history, this Washington Post weather blog notes.

Given the steep terrain of the city, the powerful fury of the water, it's remarkable no one perished in the flooding, officials said. MPR's Bob Collins helps put that in perspective.

In the end, Duluth News Tribune columnist Sam Cook wrote that awe-struck Duluth residents were simply left to marvel at the mess.

Here's another look at various spots around the city in a video posted to YouTube: