HOMEOWNERS URGED TO GET INSURANCE

SIOUXLAND---The Federal Emergency Management Agency says residents along the Missouri River should buy flood insurance now even though new policies likely won't cover losses from the floods that began in June.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune had asked FEMA to clarify how the National Flood Insurance Program applies to the current flooding along the Missouri.

In a response released by Thune Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate repeats a prior  announcement that the agency considers the current flooding to have started June 1.

But he says getting insurance now could protect residents if the current flooding causes problems like a levee breach or the swelling of a tributary after the policy becomes effective.

FEMA says it might consider such event to be "separate and independent" of the ongoing disaster.