Freeport, Minnesota

The Flood Warning continues for
the Sauk river at St cloud.
* At 11:15 am Thursday the stage was 6.8 feet.
* Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast.
* Flood stage is 6.0 feet.
* Forecast... the river will continue rising to near 6.9 feet by
tomorrow early afternoon March 19th then begin falling. Additional
rises are possible
* impact... at 6.0 feet... two homes along the river may experience
flooding.
* Flood history... this level compares to a previous crest of 8.2 feet
on Mar 27 2009.

1048 am CDT Thu Mar 18 2010

The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities has issued a

* Flood Warning for ice jam flooding in...
east central Stearns County in central Minnesota...
western Benton County in central Minnesota...

* until 1030 am CDT Friday

* at 1030 am CDT... emergency management and law enforcement reported
a significant ice jam along the Mississippi River from the north
side of Sartell northward through Pine Point. This is causing
water to back up along the river and into Little Rock Lake. Law
enforcement has reported several homes on Pine Point are already
close to being impacted. Flooding is likely in immediate lowland
areas along the river and possibly along Harris Channel and into
Little Rock Lake. If the ice jam were to break abruptly... flooding
is likely to occur further downstream along the Mississippi
channel through Sartell and possibly into the north side of St
cloud. Considering the extent of this ice jam and little ice
movement having been noticed thus far... this ice jam may be a
prolonged event.

* Some locations that are likely to experience flooding
include... Pine Point... Little Rock Lake... Watab... Sartell and Sauk
Rapids.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Residents near the Mississippi River from just south of Rice to
the north side of St cloud should act now for possible flooding
as the ice moves through the river.


Lat... Lon 4570 9413 4564 9415 4557 9414 4558 9421
      4566 9424 4572 9424 4574 9420


Mtf/drc

... Day 4 of 2010 National flood safety awareness week...

Your National Weather Service (nws) invites your participation in
the National flood safety awareness week, March 15-19, 2010.

Today's flood safety theme is determining your flood risk and
buying flood insurance to protect against loss. Everyone lives
in a flood zone... whether that risk be low... moderate... or
high. Over a typical 30-year home mortgage... floods are nearly
three times more likely to occur than a fire. Put another
way... your home has the same chance of being flooded as your
car being stolen... yet few people have flood insurance. Even
low hazard flood areas are at risk... about one in three flood
insurance claims each year are paid to homeowners living
outside of high-risk areas.

You may think home owner's insurance covers floods... but in
reality most home owner's insurance does not cover flooding...
and just a few inches of water can cause thousands of dollars
in damage. Homeowners... renters... and business owners are
eligible to Purchase flood insurance as long as their
community participates in the National flood insurance program
or N-f-I-p.

For a list of communities that are eligible in Minnesota for
the program please reference.

Http://www.Fema.Gov/cis/MN.Pdf (lower case with the exception
of mn)

For a list of communities that are eligible in Wisconsin for
the program please reference.

Http://www.Fema.Gov/cis/WI.Pdf (lower case with the exception
of wi)

The N-f-I-p is a federal program enabling property owners to
Purchase flood insurance at reasonable rates. It takes 30 days
after Purchase for a policy to take effect... so it is important
to buy insurance before floods threaten. Now is a good time to
buy flood insurance... ahead of Spring flood melt and the Summer
thunderstorm seasons.

For a summary of what is covered both structurally as well as
content wise please reference.

Http://www.Floodsmart.Gov/floodsmart/pdfs/nfip_summary_of_
coverage.Pdf

Note that while structurally a basement is covered... personal
property items are not... so homeowners should plan to move
these items to a higher elevation if at all possible.

For a quick reference on flood insurance basics in Minnesota
please reference

Http://www.Dnr.State.MN.US/waters/watermgmt_section/flodplain
/flood_insurance.Html

More information about the flood insurance program in
general... see the federal emergency management
agency web site

Www.Floodsmart.Gov

To buy flood insurance... contact an insurance agent in your
area.

Additional information about National Weather Service flood
warnings... advisories... and flood safety is available at...
www.Weather.Gov/floodsafety