Red River Flood: Right Outside My Door
March 28th 2009 00:20
Many of you may know that I live on the Minnesota/North Dakota border. What you may not know is that the border between the two states in my neck o’ the woods is the Red River, which is about 2 blocks from my front door, and is getting closer by the hour.
The Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota is no stranger to flooding. In 1997, a devastating flood nearly wiped out Grand Forks, ND and surrounding communities. Since then, a giant Dutch style dike and flood wall system was built to hold back the water.
Presently, those walls are about to be put to the test. The river levels in Grand Forks are currently inching toward 48 ft. They are expected to reach upwards of 53 feet before the waters begin to recede. This places us smack dab in the middle of a tremendously precarious situation. Will the walls hold back the water? They’ve never been properly tested. Will the levees and dikes breach? There have already been a few compromised earthen dikes in neighboring Fargo, ND. We’ll just have to wait and see.
The Red River is one of the few rivers that flows North. The waters that have already caused damage and destruction in Fargo are still on the rise and on their way North to Grand Forks. Fargo is already evacuating many residents and patients at the local hospital, Merit Care. Shelters have been set up, and people are working around the clock filling sandbags and shoring up any weak spots along the Red.
Schools have been cancelled at least through next week, and high school and college students are being bussed to various locations in need of help. My brother was volunteering with the sandbagging operation from 11:00 pm yesterday afternoon until 3:00 am this morning.
As for me, I am waiting anxiously for reports as they stream in. There are 3 bridges that allow access in and out of the city where I live (East Grand Forks). Two of the bridges are already closed due to water levels. The last one may be closed any time. If this happens, I’ll either be stranded in town for an unknown period of time, or relocated to a shelter at our community center. My husband will certainly be relocated, as he works on the other side of the river, and will be denied access if the final bridge closes.
To make matters worse, we just experienced a blizzard, which dumped even more snow onto the region. I was actually stranded outside of town after the storm hit, and arrived home to find that matters had taken a turn for the worst with flooding.
Take a Look at some of the National coverage below:
Below: The Today Show
Below: The Rachel Maddow Show
some photos courtesy of Grand Forks Herald
The Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota is no stranger to flooding. In 1997, a devastating flood nearly wiped out Grand Forks, ND and surrounding communities. Since then, a giant Dutch style dike and flood wall system was built to hold back the water.
Presently, those walls are about to be put to the test. The river levels in Grand Forks are currently inching toward 48 ft. They are expected to reach upwards of 53 feet before the waters begin to recede. This places us smack dab in the middle of a tremendously precarious situation. Will the walls hold back the water? They’ve never been properly tested. Will the levees and dikes breach? There have already been a few compromised earthen dikes in neighboring Fargo, ND. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Above: Demers Bridge, mere feet from my home. Picture taken March 24th. The Water Beneath this bridge is normally low enough for a barge to pass below. The building where I live can be seen in the distance just behind the trees.
The Red River is one of the few rivers that flows North. The waters that have already caused damage and destruction in Fargo are still on the rise and on their way North to Grand Forks. Fargo is already evacuating many residents and patients at the local hospital, Merit Care. Shelters have been set up, and people are working around the clock filling sandbags and shoring up any weak spots along the Red.
Above: This photo also taken on March 24th shows a memorial to the 1997 flood. The pillar shows how high the waters reached during that flood. It sits atop a scenic walkway that is normally on top of a hill overlooking the river. By this date the water had already overcome the lookout.
Schools have been cancelled at least through next week, and high school and college students are being bussed to various locations in need of help. My brother was volunteering with the sandbagging operation from 11:00 pm yesterday afternoon until 3:00 am this morning.
Above: This is the very same pillar less than 24 hours later.
As for me, I am waiting anxiously for reports as they stream in. There are 3 bridges that allow access in and out of the city where I live (East Grand Forks). Two of the bridges are already closed due to water levels. The last one may be closed any time. If this happens, I’ll either be stranded in town for an unknown period of time, or relocated to a shelter at our community center. My husband will certainly be relocated, as he works on the other side of the river, and will be denied access if the final bridge closes.
Above: This is the floodgate just outside my front door as they were putting the finishing touches on it, March 25th.
To make matters worse, we just experienced a blizzard, which dumped even more snow onto the region. I was actually stranded outside of town after the storm hit, and arrived home to find that matters had taken a turn for the worst with flooding.
Above: To give you a better idea how close I am to the river, this is my parking lot. That is the flood wall. The brick part of the wall is permanent, the metal gates were added this week.
Above: Blizzard complicates flood preparations. If temps rise, it will mean even more water pouring into the Red River.
Take a Look at some of the National coverage below:
Below: The Today Show
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Below: The Rachel Maddow Show
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
some photos courtesy of Grand Forks Herald
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