Flood Hazard Communication in Real Life

Posted by Alexandra Matiella Novak Mar 11, 2009

It's early March in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Blizzard Coyote has just finished its work.

Flooding is on everybody's mind, including mine. My husband and I recently sat down and discussed whether or not we should get flood insurance for our condominium. But first, some history:

In 1997, the cities of Grand Forks, ND - on the west bank of the Red River - and East Grand Forks, MN - on the east bank of the Red River - were flooded to the extent that the entire city of Grand Forks had to be evacuated. When people returned, some came back to homes in which only the basements flooded. Others came back to houses that were completely destroyed and whole neighborhoods had to be cleared out and are now parks, including a dog park and a golf course. When driving around these areas, it's almost eerie to see the neighborhood roads and cul-de-sacs that now go nowhere.

The 1997 flood was caused by a combination of many unfortunate events, but the three main ones were:

1. A high amount of precipitation in the fall, which caused the accumulation of thick ground frost in this flat area
2. Eight blizzards bringing a high amount of snow in the winter and early spring
3. An ice jam downstream (north) of Grand Forks in the spring when everything was melting

These events caused the Red River to swell and crest to about 54 feet. Well above the river's banks and any dirt levees that had been put in place to stop flooding. No one wants a repeat of the 1997 flooding event. It has scarred this peaceful upper midwest community. The cities and the states of North Dakota and Minnesota have spent millions of dollars building a flood wall along the Red River. This flood wall is 60 feet above the rivers normal flow level - about 6 feet above the 1997 crest.

Here we are in 2009 and, so far, the first two of the above events have occurred. The National Weather Service has recorded that the Fargo (also on the Red River) and Grand Forks areas are experiencing the wettest six-month fall and winter period on record.

So What About Flood Insurance?

I had just finished writing the article "How to Make a Flood Map" when my husband emailed me about some frustration he was experiencing regarding getting flood insurance for our condominium. We had already decided to get flood insurance for our own unit, but the condo association board - made up of nine residents, including my husband - was trying to decide whether or not to purchase flood insurance for the building. The greatest concern was the garage, which is located under the building.

Now, here's where this topic gets interesting:

The building we live in is located in Downtown Grand Forks on North 3rd Street exactly in an area that was most damaged by the flood. In fact, the flood and fire that destroyed this block is the reason that our building was eventually built in that location - it was an empty lot for almost ten years. Now our building is there and it's a beautiful building in a great location. One of my favorite things about it is that there is a very touching sculpture in front of the building of people getting helped into a boat - a memorial of the 1997 flood.

So, yeah, we want insurance. In fact, FEMA has advised people in the Red River Valley to get insurance. Some people have a lot of faith in the flood wall, and that's great, but if the opportunity is there to further protect yourself, you should take it.

Conflict of Hazard Communication

Unfortunately, and very frustrating to my husband and I, there were some on the board who see the wall as a magical force that would never let Grand Forks flood again. There were even some "geologists" who were volunteering their "expertise" and telling others that our building didn't need flood insurance because of the flood wall.

This upset me very much. How irresponsible for a geologist to actually advise people against getting flood insurance, or any kind of insurance, to protect against a natural hazard. It was very much like so many scenarios that I've read about in my research on natural and volcanic hazards. There's always an "expert" who is telling the community, "there's nothing to worry about." This happens almost every time there is a natural hazard and the community is trying to decide what to do.

The bottom line: flood wall or not, FEMA has advised our community to get flood insurance. It's very inexpensive. It's going to cost our building $2,600 to get $500,000 worth of coverage. There's 27 units in our building, so that comes to about $100 for each unit and can be easily paid for using a surplus in our condo fees. The insurance will cover any common areas, but not people's personal belongings - that's why we got our own individual policy for our unit. What we are mainly concerned about is the garage. Being below ground, and the fact that we are about 100 feet from the flood wall, it's possible that we could get water backing up into our garage from the sewers, even if the water doesn't come over the flood wall.

Hopefully, we will not need this insurance. I'm sure the flood wall will do it's thing and protect us from the Red River if and when the time comes. But to not further protect yourself when you have the opportunity is just downright irresponsible. And most appalling to me is that it was actually a fellow geologist who was advising people not to worry about flood insurance, despite what FEMA was advising. This confuses communities so much - when there is conflicting information coming to them from those that they think are experts on the subject - and it happens all the time when no one knows for sure what is going to happen. But not knowing for sure what would happen, wouldn't you rather get insurance and at least have peace of mind that you will be covered if anything does happen?

...May the winter be mild, may the spring thaw be gentle and even unexciting...

- Prayer from St. Michaels Church, Grand Forks