Joplin, Mo., continues to dig out from the massive tornado that blasted the city Sunday, but it wasn't the only city hit hard that day. Minneapolis-based Finance and Commerce reports that officials there are dealing with a "very preliminary" estimate of $166 million in damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure.


The storm that tore through sections of north Minneapolis on Sunday left two people dead and dozens injured. City spokesman Casper Hill says the damage assessment is far from complete, Finance and Commerce reports.

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© Craig Lassig, APBob Alvin looks for personal belongings in the debris outside his north Minneapolis home.
"Inspectors are going through, street by street, just assessing the [exterior] damage on individual properties. It's going to take some time," Hill says. "We want to get some streets opened."

The website notes that north Minneapolis already has been burdened in recent years by the foreclosure crisis, which "hit the area particularly hard." Hill told the website it was too early to gauge the storm's impact on the city's efforts to rehabilitate foreclosed homes.

The Minneapolis City Council has an emergency meeting scheduled today to vote on Mayor R.T. Rybak's request to declare a state of emergency.