Local Tells of the Fargo Flood

Flooding in Fargo, North Dakota continues; at least 10 homes have been lost to the waters of the Red River.
Local Tells of the Fargo Flood
A truck navigates a flooded road near Fargo, North Dakota. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Joshua Philipp
3/31/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/gargfga85711985.jpg" alt="A truck navigates a flooded road near Fargo, North Dakota.   (Scott Olson/Getty Images)" title="A truck navigates a flooded road near Fargo, North Dakota.   (Scott Olson/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1829164"/></a>
A truck navigates a flooded road near Fargo, North Dakota.   (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
NEW YORK—Flooding in Fargo, North Dakota continues; at least 10 homes have been lost to the waters of the Red River.

When water levels began to reach dangerous heights, local police officer Mike Kjera, 45, was forced to abandon his home just two miles south of the main town. He shared his story and the current situation in Fargo with The Epoch Times during a phone interview.

Kjera is currently staying with a friend in town where he has continued to help locals and relief workers maintain the 12-mile-long dike that is holding back the near 39-foot water levels—the flood level is 18 feet, which is a frightening thought to residents.

“You sitting basically a ways below, in some places you’re probably ten feet below the dikes, you know,” Kjera said. “This has never been seen before. You sort of get used to it, but not when you get water like this. This is unbelievable.”

The failing of the dike is the worst fear of everyone in the town. To Kjera, this is even more of a reality, as a failing dike is what caused him to lose his home.

When the flood warnings were first aired, he built a ring dike (much smaller than the one in town) around his house, yet it only held back “a couple feet of water,” before it gave way to leaks.

“What happens is that if the dike doesn’t hold back all the water then you get pumps going. If you don’t have enough pumps to keep up with the leaks it just keeps filling up, and you know, if it gets high enough it just starts coming in the windows and the back door and all that sort of thing,” he said.

When the water began to fill his home, Kjera was forced to abandon it to the flood. He put on chest waders to walk through the 35-degree waters, making his way to the main road and then to town, where he now stays.

“The water was about two inches from going over the main road. But to get from the house to the main road I had to walk in some places where it was probably about five feet deep, I suppose,” he said.

Kjera didn’t seem to be too fazed by his loss. When asked if he feels any good has come out of this, he said, “Oh yeah. If we can get through the next couple of days there’s going to be a lot of good that comes out of things.”

“Everyone is coming around, helping each-other out and doing whatever they can for each-other. You know, if you’ve got to lose one house to save twenty that’s the way it is.”

Currently, many homeowners have taken the responsibility to watch the dike for leaks. Others are working at the local Fargodome stadium, making sandbags to further support the main dike and the backup dikes throughout the town.

“I don’t think most people realize how hard these homeowners work, who are on the side of the river where the dikes are, and how they have to keep their pumps running every day, 24 hours so the dike doesn’t give way,” Kjera said.

“People have been cooperating unbelievably. It’s just been excellent.

“They get to know their neighbors like their best of friends because they’re all helping each-other too.”

Still, there are some changes that will need to be made once the flood subsides. According to Kjera, the biggest change that needs to happen is the construction of a permanent dike.

“There’s no way they can just keep doing this. In the last 12 years we’ve had three major-type floods that are hundred-year floods that are only supposed to happen once every hundred years. We’ve had three now and two of them are record-setting ones,” he said.

As water levels begin to drop, residents and rescue workers haven’t let up.

Barb Sturner, FEMA public affairs officer said that FEMA relief workers are still working closely with the local and state government.

“We’re there at the request of the state. As long as they feel there’s a need for us to participate in the response activities we'll be there. There’s no significant change in terms of FEMA right now [with the waters] going down a little bit. There’s still some vulnerabilities there,” Sturner said in a phone interview.

Among the larger concerns is helping those who don’t have flood insurance to help repair water damage or lost homes. Sturner said that FEMA held public meetings on precisely this issue to encourage people to get flood insurance.

When asked about the response of people getting flood coverage, Sturner said. “Well obviously we wish more people did. It kind of remains to be seen, once the water goes down, what kind of damage is there.”

 

Joshua Philipp is an award-winning investigative reporter with The Epoch Times and host of EpochTV's "Crossroads" program. He is a recognized expert on unrestricted warfare, asymmetrical hybrid warfare, subversion, and historical perspectives on today’s issues. His 10-plus years of research and investigations on the Chinese Communist Party, subversion, and related topics give him unique insight into the global threat and political landscape.
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