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April 10, 2013

Before and after photos: Home buyouts in Fargo-Moorhead key to flood fight

By Nathaniel Minor
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The cities of Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead, Minn. have purchased and removed hundreds of flood-prone homes along the Red River since the record flood of 2009. In some cases, permanent levees now protect the remaining homes. As a result, the cities require fewer sandbags and less manpower when fighting floods now. The region is gearing up for another major flood this year.

Click the images to see transition

1

This before-after pair of images shows a home on Elm Street S and 7th Avenue S in Moorhead that was surrounded by Red River floodwaters in 2009, and the same area in March 2013. (Click image to see transition) (MPR Photos/Tom Robertson, Nathaniel Minor)
link to this photo

2

Satellite images from Google Maps show the Red River and Rivershore Drive S in Moorhead north of Interstate 94. The dashed line in the river is the state line of North Dakota and Minnesota. Most homes on this stretch of that road were bought out in 2010. (Click image to see transition) link to this photo

3

Former residents of this neighborhood on Rivershore Drive S in Moorhead who took home buyouts said fighting floods was a huge job. "It's just a relief that I'm not doing this [anymore]," former resident Richard Pemble told MPR's Tom Robertson in 2011. (Click image to see transition) (Courtesy city of Moorhead, MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) link to this photo

4

Most houses on the river side of Rivershore Drive S in Moorhead were removed after the 2009 flood, including George and Ruth Korsmo's home at 3111 Rivershore Drive S. (Click image to see transition) (Courtesy city of Moorhead, MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) link to this photo

5

Many homes near the river in north Moorhead were removed after the 2009 flood. Here, trees remain but Craig Stockwell's former home at 809 10th Avenue N is now gone. (Click image to see transition) (Courtesy city of Moorhead, MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) link to this photo

6

Donald Gilbertson's old house at 819 9th Street N in Moorhead was one of many that were removed on that block. (Click image to see transition) (Courtesy city of Moorhead, MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) link to this photo

7

Some homes were demolished before 2009. Here, in north Fargo, a stretch of homes in the Ridgewood neighborhood near the VA Hospital was removed after the 1997 flood. The highlighted section in the after photo shows where a permanent levee now stands. link to this photo

8

The city of Fargo started to demolish homes in the Ridgewood neighborhood after the 1997 flood. This home was one of the last to go, in 2008. (Click image to see transition) (Courtesy city of Moorhead, MPR Photo/Nathaniel Minor) link to this photo

9

This map shows the vast majority of about 300 home buyouts in Fargo and Moorhead since 2009. Data provided by the cities of Moorhead and Fargo. (MPR Map/Nathaniel Minor) link to this map

10

As a result of home buyouts in Fargo and Moorhead, the cities now need far fewer sandbags when fighting floods. (MPR Graphic/Nathaniel Minor) link to this chart

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