The disasters in Texas and New Mexico are something Minnesotans can't take for granted. 

In 2007, deadly flash floods forced people to evacuate homes and campgrounds in southeastern Minnesota.

Up to 18 inches of rain fell between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, 2007, triggering flash floods that are still considered some of Minnesota's worst. It killed seven people and caused $179 million in damages, mostly in Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties.

Ben Klinger was a young police officer back then.

"Every direction you look, there is water. Houses are surrounded by water and it's dark because the power is out," he said. 

Klinger is now Winona County's emergency management director. He can still see the damage, the fear and the loss.

He says communications are vastly improved, but at least 10% of his county still is not in full cellphone range.

"My predecessors and everybody really took the lessons learned out of that event and built out a response," Klinger said. "We added early warning sensors along the river that give us notification upstream and it automatically notifies their dispatch center."

That storm didn't just impact Minnesota. Across the Midwest, 14 people died and it caused more than $550 million in damage across six states.

• Flooding
• Flash Flooding