Mitigation Best Practices

MOORHEAD, MN – Moorhead has seen its share of flooding over the past two decades. In 1994, 1997, and 2002, the City of Moorhead took part in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to mitigate flooding and reduce future flood losses. A total of eight repetitive loss properties in1994, sixteen homes damaged in the 1997 flood, and two additional repetitive loss homes in 2002 have been acquired through the HMGP.

AUSTIN, MN - In the spring of 2000, floodwaters in Austin, Minnesota, crested at 23.4 feet, the highest on record. But far fewer homes received flood damage than in the multiple flood events of the last 30 years. A first-of-its-kind acquisition program was conducted after two major floods in 1978. With additional buyouts occurring after succeeding floods, a total of 163 structures were eventually removed from the flood plain - before the flood of 2000.

NORMAN COUNTY, MN - The repetitive flooding of the Red River Valley has caused Norman County residents and local government officials to place a high priority on flood protection. Partnerships were formed to provide solutions to keep farmers in business and communities viable. The Wild Rice Watershed District (WRWD) has been working with rural residents, state agencies and FEMA on implementing a mitigation strategy of acquisition and ring dike construction.

MINNESOTA - High windstorms and ice storms have cause overhead power lines in Minnesota to become hazardous and at risk of failure. Statewide, the ice storms are heavy enough to break the lines and the windstorms are high enough to blow down the lines. Several electric cooperatives have experience repetitive outages during a single storm because the lines break in several areas from heavy ice and high wind.

MINNESOTA – A tornado and several windstorms caused severe damage in Itasca State Park, located in northwestern Minnesota, and has a half a million visitors each year. The storm damaged and blew down numerous pine trees throughout the park. As the downed, wet trees dried, the potential for a catastrophic wildfire greatly increased in the park. The bark beetle exists in all pine forests, but usually does not present a threat to a healthy forest. However, the storm created the perfect breeding environment for the bark beetle.