Last spring, more than 4,000 homes were destroyed and 1,000 Minot Air Force Base airmen displaced when the Souris River flooded, breaking century-old crest records. Many are still living in temporary housing as city managers and developers scramble to add housing capacity. From 2010 to 2011, the city's building permits doubled in value to $204 million.
"This was a $1-billion flood, meaning it's going to cost $1 billion to recover from it," says Minot, N.D., developer and builder Jon Coughlin.