Early preparation

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A representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency attended an informational session Tuesday to discuss flood insurance issues with Minot area residents in preparation for potential spring flooding.

The open house was held at the Minot Public Library beginning at 3 p.m. and was one of six held in North Dakota over the span of three days. The main purpose was to inform people about purchasing flood insurance. FEMA officials stress that since there is a 30-day waiting period before flood insurance takes effect after it is purchased, anyone who might wish to acquire insurance should do so soon if not immediately.

Dave Kyner, a hazard mitigation specialist with the National Flood Insurance Program who operates out of the Region VIII FEMA office in Denver, was in attendance to answer individual questions regarding flood insurance. He spoke to a rotating group of about 30 people who would leave when their questions were answered, making room for more who were arriving steadily for at least the first hour.

FEMA spokesman Jerry DeFelice said that Kyner and the other FEMA representatives at these meetings are specialists who are normally reservists, but FEMA specifically wanted them to handle the informal question-and-answer sessions. Insurance professionals were also encouraged to attend the meeting.

DeFelice also plans to attend an upcoming meeting Feb. 26 at the Minot City Council Chambers to discuss levees and floodplain mapping with city and county officials. That meeting is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

One question that many people had concerned the definition of a flood.

Kyner said the definition of a flood according to the National Flood Insurance Program is normally dry dirt inundated with water that covers two acres of land or two adjacent pieces of property, of which one has to be the insured's property.

The source of the flood isn't confined to overflowing riverbanks, either.

"A flood event can come from any source," Kyner said. "It can come from a broken water main. That's happened before."