Disaster Prevention Achieved

Many communities in the US Upper Midwest have been battling record floods in recent decades. This chapter focuses on a spring flood event in 2009, when the Greater Fargo area avoided destruction from the Red River of the North by utilizing mitigation efforts. Included in the undertaking was the mobilization of the community to place millions of sandbags, as well as the creative repurposing of resources. This case study presents a model of community resilience in a geographically vulnerable region. It illustrates the achievement of flood disaster prevention in the face of imminent and severe threat; the reinforcement and enhancement of community resilience based on averting disaster; the channeling of fear-related behaviors into constructive community actions; and the complexity of factors that create unique flood risks along the Red River of the North. Lessons-learned provided for not only a recovery framework, but also a recognition of the value of behavioral health leadership in disaster situations.