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By Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio
April 17, 2001
Part of MPR's online coverage of the floods of '01.
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Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Albaugh toured flooded areas in the Red River Valley on April 16. Albaugh viewed flooded areas, and several FEMA-funded projects that are successfully preventing flooding this year. The FEMA director made no promise of federal aid, but praised Minnesota and North Dakota officials for preventing serious flood damage this year.
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JOE ALBAUGH'S WHIRLWIND TOUR of Fargo Moorhead took him past large temporary earthen dikes that keep the Red River at bay, and to areas where the river now flows freely over land that four years ago, homeowners fought fiercely to protect.
Stopping for a moment at the foot of a large levee in front of Fargo City Hall, Albaugh discussed the flood fight with city public works operations director Dennis Walaker.
"Obviously you've identified your risks, now it's time to step forward and implement a plan to take care of them, and you've done that obviously," Albaugh told Walaker.
According to Walker, "We have not lost one residential property in the City of Fargo."
At a briefing following the tour, Albaugh praised the flood prevention efforts in Minnesota and North Dakota as "a great success."
"It's paid major dividends. You haven't had the number of properties impacted you had in 1997," he said.
Albaugh says there is obviously more work to be done. He says FEMA does a great job of responding to disasters, he wants the agency to do a better job of preventing damage.
"Mitigation is about identifying your risk out there and figuring out a solution so you don't continually expose your citizens and their property to loss. Everyone has done a good job here."
State and federal officials praised Albaugh for his quick response to flooding in the Red River Valley. North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy spent the day at Albaugh's side.
"It's a lot more pleasant to take a victory tour with the director of FEMA than dealing with some of the problems we had in 1997," he said.
But Pomeroy, a Democrat, made subtle reference to Bush administration plans to reduce funding for FEMA and the some Army Corps of Engineers' flood-control projects in the Red River Valley. Without federal assistance, Pomeroy told the director, the success of this year's flood fight would not have been possible.
"It's going to take an ongoing committment at the federal level to make sure the Corps of Engineers and FEMA have the resources to continue to play these essential partnering roles," Pomeroy said.
Minnesota and North Dakota officials say they will begin work this week on tabulating flood costs as they consider applying for a federal disaster declaration.
Minnesota Emergency Management Director Kevin Leuer says damage in Minnesota has already topped $7 million dollars and will likely go much higher.
"As soon as we see there are significant enough damages to look like it's going to overwhelm the ability of those communities to recover without state or federal assistance, we will then start to seek that additional assistance. But we need to get those core counties assessed, then we'll start to move that forward," according to Leuer.
It's likely Minnesota and North Dakota will request federal disaster status. FEMA Director Joe Albaugh says his tour of the Red River Valley will be helpful in making a recommendation to President Bush for a disaster declaration.
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