Flood of the red river basin in 2009 and effectiveness of rapid mitigation efforts

Yail J. Kim, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, US, shared his views on the effectiveness of rapid mitigation efforts in overcoming the challenges of flooding of the Red River Basin in the city of Fargo in 2009. The city government ordered a mandatory evacuation of the residents living in certain areas of the city and public schools, including three universities in the region. The city government started the emergency management system, including road closures when the flood stage reached 9.1 m. A direct benefit of flood protection was achieved by diking and sandbagging along the flood-vulnerable zone. A total of three million sandbags were used for building dikes and the earth dike was built at critical locations, including the downtown region.