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For some Minnesotans, Tuesday鈥檚 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore brought back memories of the tragic, deadly collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis back in 2007.

The Baltimore bridge collapsed into a river after it was hit by a container ship. Of the people who fell into the river, two were rescued, two were found dead and four were still unaccounted for as of Thursday morning, according to officials.

Mandel Ngan / Getty Images

Scenes of the wreckage and the water search for survivors in Baltimore were a reminder to many of what happened in the Twin Cities on Aug. 1, 2007.

The reasons for the two bridges collapsing are different. But the trauma is similar.

鈥淚 immediately kind of went into their shoes in a way that a lot of people probably can鈥檛 imagine,鈥� said Lindsay Walz, who survived a fall into the Mississippi River from the I-35W bridge more than 16 years ago.

鈥淎s I saw the bridge collapsing, I felt that fall in my body and then I also felt the pressure of the water that my body felt on August 1st against my body, like my body just remembers those things in this very challenging way,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he reality is that the (people) that are still unaccounted for, their families, everyone who knew them and was impacted by them will have a long road ahead,鈥� Walz said.

Walz joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Tuesday to talk about the two disasters. The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.

What came up for you when you heard the news about the Baltimore bridge?

I am still shocked at the, just 鈥� it looked like a toothpick, you know, like one of those things that kids in fifth grade make toothpick bridges. And it just fell apart so quickly and really took me back.

Having that body of water underneath the span of bridge, I went straight back in my body to being under the water in the Mississippi. And couldn鈥檛 really even imagine what was happening in Baltimore this morning and who was there and who was impacted, but I immediately kind of went into their shoes in a way that a lot of people probably can鈥檛 imagine.

I can鈥檛 even imagine how your body reacted. How does that impact you today?

I think one of the things that often comes up in trauma recovery (is) they talk about flashbacks, and for a long time I thought that flashbacks were really just memories happening, almost like an image or a movie in your head. And some of that happened this morning.

But it鈥檚 also flashbacks can really happen in your body. And so as I saw the bridge collapsing, I felt that fall in my body and then I also felt the pressure of the water that my body felt on August 1st against my body, like my body just remembers those things in this very challenging way.

And I guess, you know, in a certain way, this isn鈥檛 a new day for me. I have these kinds of moments all the time and 鈥� I鈥檝e had to learn about them 鈥� what it鈥檚 about and what my body鈥檚 trying to do.

Jeffrey Thompson / MPR News

My body鈥檚 trying to keep me safe and it thinks that the image that I鈥檓 seeing is, you know, happening to me and so I have to remind myself what is true and that I鈥檓 laying in my bed and safe in this moment. Luckily I have a lot of support. My husband is somebody I can talk to at length about how all of this impacts me and the ways that it鈥檚 impacted my identity and how I understand the world and how these events that happen can impact me again.

You broke your back that day when the bridge collapsed, and you have PTSD. How long did your recovery take?

For a while, I said, 鈥淚 was in the hospital for five days and then I was in a back brace healing my broken back for five months. And then the emotional healing took about five years.鈥�

And to some degree, I would say that that鈥檚 true. I would also say that the emotional healing never really ends, you know? And there鈥檚 always the impact. I will never not feel the fall in my body.

I see an image, whether it鈥檚 an actual news story like (Tuesday) or watching a bridge fall down on a movie screen because that happens way more than people realize 鈥� it鈥檚 like the common action film trope.

But when those things happen, I鈥檓 impacted and I think part of the recovery from PTSD process is not expecting that that will ever go away but just learning how to process it and to feel your way through it when it happens. And that鈥檚 really the work that I鈥檝e had to do over the last decade of my life. But it鈥檚 really hard to live life as a survivor.

How do you view your life as a survivor?

It鈥檚 a really interesting question and one that I continue to grapple with. I think there was a period of time that 鈥� there鈥檚 a meaning to my life, like I鈥檓 here for a reason. I want to use my life in important ways.

And I think that that鈥檚 still true, but I think I also have just been humbled by all of the ways that life happens to people, that people are impacted by tragedy and by circumstance in all kinds of ways. And we all find our way to make it through. I think that I think I鈥檓 constantly on a quest for what to do.

I think one of the things that I can use my life for is to help educate people about trauma. When a bridge falls down, that鈥檚 the first thing people will say is, 鈥淥h, how traumatic.鈥�

You don't need to have a PhD for society to understand that. But understanding the lived experience of it is something that I can help illuminate in ways that may be other kinds of trauma that are more private or more shameful, or whatever the case might be, can be really hard. And so to me, that鈥檚 the best way that I can make meaning of the experience that I鈥檝e had.

We don鈥檛 know how many people are directly affected by this tragedy in Baltimore, but do you have any advice for what those folks are going through right now?

One of the things I鈥檝e been thinking about a lot 鈥� that happened that right away when I saw it 鈥� I started to compare it. I was like, 鈥淥h, at least it wasn鈥檛 50 feet deep when our bridge collapsed.鈥�

I think that鈥檚 one of the trauma [responses] is that we kind of count: What are the numbers? What are the impacts in that way? And the reality is that the six people that are still unaccounted for, their families, everyone who knew them and was impacted by them will have a long road ahead.

And I think that the more that we can understand the human impact of these situations, and that was a well traveled bridge that happened. The collapse happened in the middle of the night, which thankfully saved a lot of a lot of people鈥檚 lives, probably.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean that these events don鈥檛 have a huge human cost. And I think we should just be really, really mindful about that.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday morning posted on social media: 鈥淭his morning Baltimore woke up to a bridge collapse, a tragedy we know all too well in Minneapolis. As the city responds to this emergency, my thoughts are with the people of Baltimore. Minneapolis stands with you.鈥�

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar noted all those who rushed to help when the I-35W bridge fell, and said in a social media post she鈥檚 鈥渢hankful for the Coast Guard and all the first responders.鈥�

And Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith on social media noted how 鈥渢his bridge collapse brings back tough memories for Minnesotans.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the hardest days of all my time in public service was when the I-35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River,鈥� Smith wrote. 鈥淢y thoughts are with Baltimore and the loved ones of anyone still missing.鈥�

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said it鈥檚 offered assistance to Maryland transportation officials if they need it. The agency said it will be lighting the I-35W bridge in the colors of the Maryland state flag on Tuesday night in a show of support.