Feds assure flood-weary that help is coming

WINONA, MINN. - President Bush signed a federal declaration late Thursday afternoon making disaster areas of Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties in southeastern Minnesota, opening the door with unusual speed to federal relief funding for residents and businesses devastated by last weekend's flooding.

The announcement was made by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who spoke at a hastily called news conference at Winona State University after taking a helicopter tour of the region.

With Chertoff were R. David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Gov. Tim Pawlenty and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn.

"Hopefully, now we can begin the process of drying out. We're going to be there with you," Chertoff said.

Pawlenty had asked for disaster declarations for six counties, but Olmsted, Steele and Wabasha still wait. Walz, who represents the region, said he was assured by Chertoff and Paulison that the initial declarations don't shut out the other three.

The first three were named now, Walz said, because of the "dire nature" of the disaster there.

"We're still going to advocate for whatever we can get for all of our counties," Walz said.

Disaster declarations ordinarily follow preliminary damage assessments gathered by teams of federal and state officials, a process that began Wednesday and is expected to conclude today.

But Pawlenty already had asked Bush to expedite the disaster declaration, and Chertoff said Thursday's action reflects "the president's personal concern" expressed to local leaders on a brief visit Tuesday to the Twin Cities.

Paulison said residents in the three counties may immediately call a toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA, or use the agency's website to register for federal relief. Homeowners who lack adequate insurance may receive up to $28,600 for home repairs, rental assistance, medical care and other aid. Business owners can seek similar relief through the Small Business Administration. Money is generally given in grants or low-interest loans.

The disaster declaration also makes available money to local governments for repairs to streets, bridges and public buildings, and for flood mitigation tactics such as dikes.

FEMA will establish disaster recovery centers and begin sending inspectors to specific properties.

Aid won't be available immediately, Paulison said, "but it's going to happen very soon." He is expected to tour some of the hardest-hit areas on the ground today.

Minnesota's is the first disaster declaration that Bush has made in connection with recent flooding across the Midwest. Similar declarations may be made for Ohio and Wisconsin, among other states.

News of Bush's declaration will provide some relief to anxious residents and business owners who suffered huge losses. How the federal government would respond to the disaster has been one of the biggest questions for many residents. Most did not have flood insurance.

Earlier Thursday, nine teams of federal agents spent their first full day touring the flood-ravaged cities and hamlets in southeastern Minnesota to judge the extent of the damage, being careful not to overpromise but offering support and encouragement.

"We're not doing house to house, we're just doing general numbers," FEMA inspector Margaret Simmer told two St. Charles residents who were cleaning the mud-soaked home on St. Martin Street of 87-year-old Ruth Jacobs.

Grumbling had been reported by some in the hardest-hit areas about a perceived slowness in federal response. But FEMA representatives who visited areas of heavy damage Thursday, along with officials of the federal Small Business Administration and the state's Public Safety Department, generally got a good reception from weary, mud-spattered residents.

"Everybody expects the federal [government] to come in and make things right, and it just doesn't work that way," Tracy Pietrzak, of St. Charles, told Simmer. Pietrzak was standing outside her parents' home in the Brookwood Trailer Park in St. Charles, which was swamped by the Whitewater River.

"You just try to explain the process to them, that it takes time to get the gears in motion, and what the process will be after the declaration is made," Simmer said, while looking at an assisted living center in St. Charles that had been flooded.

Jacobs, who was plucked by boat from her St. Charles home when floodwaters swamped her cul-de-sac, said it may be eight weeks before she returns home. "I am sad, but what are you going to do about it?" she said.

Muddy Main Street mess

In Stockton, a few miles west of Winona, more than 70 bleary-eyed residents took a break Thursday afternoon from the massive cleanup to attend a community meeting at City Hall. Mayor Jack Roberts, other city officials and FEMA spokeswoman Melynda Petrie spoke and took questions for nearly an hour.

Stockton's Main Street was lined with muddied furniture, appliances, mattresses and other household objects. Post-inspection, houses wear colored signs indicating condition: green for habitable, yellow for limited entry, orange for unsafe, red for dangerous.

The meeting started on a somber note, when Roberts noted "an 80 percent likelihood of seeing 3 inches of rain this afternoon. Be ready to evacuate."Oh, my God," someone said.

Turns out, the rain didn't come, although it sprinkled all afternoon. But residents voiced other concerns: about the federal disaster process, the status of sirens and the general confusion surrounding flood insurance availability.

Many of the victims don't live in flood plains, and some have claimed they can't buy flood insurance for that reason. But FEMA Director Paulison said Thursday that many private insurers offer flood coverage even for those outside normally flood-prone areas.

Near the end of the meeting tempers flared, when City Clerk Bethany Winchester said that residents would need to buy a $10 permit to connect water heaters. Later, Mayor Roberts said he would ask the City Council to waive the fee.

Bernie Merchlewitz, president and CEO of Technical Die-Casting Inc. in Stockton, offered residents use of his company's phone lines and Internet service. Merchlewitz grew up in Stockton and was there when the town went through its last great deluge, the "Mud Flood" of 1991. After that he moved to Winona, he said.

"The community is very, very patient overall, but by the same token, it will be only so long with patience before frustration sets in," he said.

"Be patient yet," Roberts told his townsfolk before they went back outside to resume their work. "Things are going to be happening, and help is on its way."

Kevin Duchschere • 612-270-1412

Kevin Duchschere • kduchschere@startribune.com