City of Austin and Mower County staff escorted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state representatives Friday through local and rural regions in efforts to how whether and how deeply public infrastructure was damaged by severe thunderstorms late Wednesday and early Thursday.

“It’s fact finding, basically,” said FEMA field public information officer Nate Custer before tours began Friday afternoon.

“We don’t have any numbers,” he said.

The city and county have both approved free pick-up services to flood-affected residents, which are instructed to either place damaged items outside or call to make arrangements with staff early next week depending on their locality.

According to Mower County Coordinator Craig Oscarson, the county did the same during record floods in 2004, and was ultimately compensated by the FEMA.

According to a press release from the Austin Police Department, Austin community members should place hazardous materials and items ruined by flooding, sewer back up or ground water seepage on boulevards for pick up next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The county is instructing all rural residents, include those in surrounding small towns and townships, to call the Mower County Courthouse at 437-9494 to schedule pick ups.

The FEMA tour was the first opportunity to evaluate damage since the region’s three primary tributaries — the Cedar River, Dobbins Creek and Turtle Creek — reach near-record levels Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service Web site Friday at 1:45 p.m., the Cedar River had receded to 17.62, just below flood stage. Its peak Thursday was 20.5 feet, the third highest ever recorded. Before storms Wednesday, it was 6.6 feet.

Dobbins Creek dipped below the “Action Stage” to 8.64 feet, the Web site said. Its top height was 18.95 feet.

Turtle Creek, at 11.59 feet, was just below moderate flood stage at 1:45 p.m. Friday, following reading of 13.66 feet.

Custer said FEMA teams have already responded to flood areas in Houston and Fillmore Counties, and completed in preliminary assessments in both regions Friday.

Mower and Freeborn Counties are the two still being surveyed, he said, adding that requests for funding cannot be made by the state until damage estimates are finalized.

“I don’t have a time table on that,” he said.

According to Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp, “number crunching” can typically take seven to 10 days, and must top $6.5 million in order to quality for funding. He said he believed that damage estimates from Houston, Fillmore, Mower and Freeborn Counties would likely be combined.

“So lumped together, I think all will exceed that,” Philipp said.

City engineer Jon Erichson, who accompanied FEMA and state staff Friday, said it may take days for the city to assemble numbers for the agency, which also collects its own data.

“They take all (our) numbers, and crunch their own, to determine legitimate requests,” Erichson said.

According to Custer, presidential declarations for funding can only occur following application from the governor’s office, which can also make demands for assistance to private business and homes.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty will visit the region Sunday, according to his office staff.

Local authorities said, overall, they are very pleased with the response coordinated by community members and officials.

Small teams of people, in most cases self-coordinated, helped fill and place sandbags near downtown, City Hall and multiple residential neighborhoods.

“It always amazes me,” the chief said, adding that total losses might have been much worse if not for flood mitigation efforts implemented by city staff in past years.

“…I think we’re pretty pleased by how this all worked out,” Philipp said.

Austin’s worst flood on record took place in 2004, when all three waterways reached record heights.

According to city documents, Austin has purchased more than 250 homes since 1978, and worked to implement a $28 million comprehensive plan to allay financial ruin to public works, community members and businesses.

“We have become a national leader in nonstructural solutions resulting in being rated among the top 25 communities in the nation b y the Federal Insurance Administration,” the document said.

Some have not escaped hardship, however. According to Elaine Hansen, executive director of the Mower County Chapter of the Red Cross, the center has opened 13 new cases of affected families; she said the preliminary assessment shows 66 homes flooded to some degree.

The Red Cross will be issuing a report Friday, she said.

Vicki Trimble, owner of Hardy Geranium on the corner of Fourth Street Southeast and Oakland Avenue East, said about four feet of water covered her main floor Thursday, leading to closure of her store.

She endured slightly worse conditions in 2004, though states that she will fulfill all orders, which this weekend include two weddings and two funerals, as she did four years ago.

“(Last time), it took about two weeks, and I’m hoping to be in faster this time because I have more staff,” she said, adding that her insurance adjuster will evaluate damages soon.

“Thankfully, I have flood insurance,” she said.