The 1997 Red River Valley Flood: Impact on marital relationships

This research note explores the deleterious social effects of the 1997 Red River Valley Flood on married couples from the Upper Great Plains cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Through in-depth interviews with husbands and wives (N = 10 couples), two major findings emerged: (1) the results indicate that the flood had a noticeable impact on marital relationships and the impact appeared to be mediated by the state of the couples' relationship prior to the flood. Strong pre-flood relationships emerged stronger in the aftermath while weak pre-flood relationships emerged weaker in the aftermath; and (2) at the time of the interview (five to eight months post-flood), the relationship of couples with little and total flood-related damage fared somewhat better than couples with moderate levels of flood-damage (e.g., flooded basements). The results are discussed relative to implications for disaster service providers.