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<br />Flood Prone Property Acquisition <br /> <br />City of Fargo <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />Record flooding occurred in the Red River Valley during the early spring of 1997 fol- <br />lowing the rapid melting of record amounts of snowfall from the winter of 1996/1997. <br />In Fargo, ND the flooding severely impacted five residential neighborhoods. In spite <br />of massive pre-flood preparations, four of these five neighborhoods were impacted by <br />significant flooding of houses. Approximately 80 houses were severely damaged by <br />flooding with nearly 30 of these damaged in excess of 50% of full value. <br /> <br />PROJECT <br /> <br />The project consisted of the acquisition and removal of 54 houses damaged by flood- <br />ing. The removal of these houses occurred at a very rapid pace thanks to the coopera- <br />tion of the FEMA and North Dakota Division of Emergency Management (NDDEM) <br />Mitigation team, The project application was submitted in June 1997 and approved in <br />July, Appraisals and acquisition began immediately with house removal beginning in <br />October 1997 and removal of all 54 houses completed by December 1998. The City <br />also independently acquired and removed 26 additional houses as part of their overall <br />flood prone property acquisition program, <br /> <br />BENEFITS <br /> <br />The City of Fargo considers the project as a success story in minimizing future flood <br />damages and also in improving flood preparedness. Approximately $2,100,000 in <br />flood damages were sustained at these 54 properties during the 1997 flood. These <br />damages were incurred in spite of the placement of approximately 750,000 sand bags <br />to protect these properties at a cost of approximately $1,000,000 (not counting volun- <br />teer and homeowner time and expenses). The removal of these houses will prevent <br />need for future flood protective measures and eliminate a repeat of 1997 flood dam- <br />ages, Removal of these houses has also enhanced the river corridor with added green <br />space and flood buffer area to the beneflt of the neighborhoods and the river's flow <br />capacity, <br /> <br />PROJECT COST <br />$6,200,000 <br /> <br />FUNDING SOURCES <br />FEMA - HMGP <br />CDBG <br />