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Shown above, Newport is just one of many communities on the river to have a FEMA flood map. With no such thing as zero flood risk, an area with a 0.2 percent annual chance of flooding has a 1/500th probability of flooding in a given year, while areas with a 1 percent annual chance of flooding have a 1/100th probability of flooding in a given year.

20230421-001017-st paul park flood map with stamp_01.pdf

Among the perks of living on a river is the awareness that you have access to scenic vistas few others do.

As to the downsides, water tending to seek its own level in spring is certainly among them,

With the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers both currently under flood warning from the National Weather Service and Newport and St. Paul Park particularly affected in terms of population density, what are governments doing to protect residents and their property from the floodwaters?

“The biggest thing right now is that we delivered sand down to 15 Fifth Street” Newport Public Works Superintendent Matt Yokiel said of efforts to keep the floodwaters at bay as the Mississippi rises.

Sandbags are useful in seeking to direct water around buildings and structures that are deemed vulnerable—a mitigation rather than control strategy. Sandbags placed with the base broader than the crown so that the middle of each bag lines up with the edge of the one below it, are a quick way to mitigate rather than try to control flood waters. A more permanent flood defense is a levee, which is like a permanent sandbag wall. They’re not always dependable, as Hurricane Katrina taught New Orleans in the early 2000s. Made right though, they provide another layer of defense for protecting property in danger from floodwaters.

As to public safety efforts in South Washington County, the Newport Fire Department recently underwent its first airboat training, the boat houses in the fire station and the department assisting Washington County with water emergencies in the southern part of the county.

On the state level, meanwhile, Governor Tim Walz signed a $40 million disaster relief bill into law Monday April 17 that provides additional assistance and help bridge the gap between damage and amounts that FEMA will step in to help with. The Federal Emergency Management Administration keeps flood maps showing calculated flood risk according to probability rather than a set year interval (as “100-year flood” might convey) and also runs a flood insurance program, with more information available at floodsmart.gov.

There’s only so much a person or government can do to tame the river, but that doesn’t mean one should do nothing at all.