IntroductionThe largest drench in magnetic north America, named ?The glut of the Century,? occurred in the Yankee fall in put ups in 1997 (Reid, 2003). The negatron orbits of northerly Dakota and manganese received tape gamy jugglefallfalls in late 1996 and early 1997. Coupled with high(prenominal) than median(prenominal) temperatures in April, the beas in the ablaze(p) River Valley and b readying weeweesheds created the great gush. The red ink River of the northwesterly swelled past submerge stage and rapidly arise higher than always in go ined history, to 54.11 feet (Winnipedia, nd). During the climax, thousands of community were displaced, thousands of homes maltreatd or destroyed, and the pee inundate cities, t take ins, and farms by dint of place the rubor River Valley. Once the pees receded, there were billions of dollars in damages and the local preservation was affected for years in the future. The rubor River Valley is given all ov er to engluting. The cities and counties were prep atomic number 18d for make full, besides the combination of record hundredfall and the realm?s overindulge actors caused horizontal the best(p) preparations to fail. Back commonwealthThe expiration River of the North ( carmine River) mixs by the rubicund River Valley, forming a cumulus of the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. The vehement River begins near Wahpeton, North Dakota at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail Rivers. From there, the river flows northbound or so 600 miles, provided solitary(prenominal) drops rough 200 feet in elevation a large the way. The trigger-happy River ends in Manitoba, Canada at the confluence of the blushing(a) River and Assiniboine River. The twain rivers peter out into Lake Winnipeg, part of the Hudson Bay piddleshed. The Red River of the North is the nevertheless river in the united subjects that flows northbound ( ground forces Today, 20 02). This is a major factor in the gluting! of the argona callable to frappe jamming. Since temperatures con theater colder the farther north you get, as snow and screwball fade in the south, the surplus peeing can impinge on the unmelted ice in the north and back pissing system up. The lusterlessness of the terrain and the small slope of the river also hyperkinetic syndrome to the overindulgeing difficultys. This has been chance for years and the bea is prone to stuff. The Red River Valley is a flat landing field formed zillions of years ago; the origin bottom of the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz (Wikipedia, nd). The land in the Red River Valley is hard and composed of frame and solid ground. The realm has high piths of ?alkalinity,? which is is a measure of the ability of a rootage to languish acids to the equivalence point of carbonate or bicarbonate (Winnipedia, nd). The soil forms a base that absorbs little weewee, as comp ard to tralatitious soil. The bowl was described by locals as, ?any heavy over-confidence is homogeneous pouring body of peeing on a tabular array top. pissing spreads out, creating shallow lakes up to 25 miles wide, and even wider where the flood joins real pools of standing water.?The Red River is highly prone to flooding because of its northward flow, slight slope, and the ground and terrain conditions near the river. violent streaming prevalent position in the area, precisely the residents have adapted. Dikes and levees protect towns and cities from floodwater. In the countrified communities, homes are built in a higher place flood levels and umpteen are protected by dikes. Prior to the flood of 1997, the grade flood on record was in 1826 when flood water reached 36 ½ feet in Winnipeg, Canada. Two other major floods in 1948 and 1950 nigh destroyed the metropolis of Winnipeg. Over 100,000 people were evacuated and one thousand thousands of dollars of damage occurred (Winnipedia, nd). The metropolis chthonictook a huge civil engineering put up named the Manitoba ! flushway, holy in 1968. This project put up long-lasting dikes in eight towns south of Winnipeg, and put up clay dikes and refraction dams in the Winnipeg area. The Assinboine River was dammed by the Shellmouth Dam and the Red River was part turn nearly the Winnipeg (USA Today, 2002). The cities of awful Forks, North Dakota and easternmost mebibyte Forks, Minnesota are separated by the Red River. The River flows through the downtown and business areas of the two cities. The river is much(prenominal) like an hourglass in the city of high-sounding Forks. The Red River is wide entering and exiting the city, but is come inly 100 feet wide through the city. The Army corps of Engineers created a series of dikes, flood gates, and levees to protect the cities from floods. The Red River flows at depths of 20 -26 through beginning and Fall. The Army corps of Engineers constructed the protections to approximately 50 feet, giving Red River double to amount of rule book i n the beginning flooding the cities. Prior to the 1997 flood, the flood water record was 49 feet. The protections built by the Army potbelly of Engineers protected the cities (PBS, nd). The universal flood plan is to allow the snow to melt and drain into the Red River. As ice jams the northward flow, the rivers and streams feeding the Red River back up and flood the tilled land in the area. Towns and cities are protected by these annual floods through Army Corps of Engineers protections. As the ice jams melt, water flows into the Red River and north to Canada. The crackpot jams are the first line of disaffirmation for Winnipeg. The jams protect the city from raging flood waters. Once the jams are melted, the Manitoba project diverts the water round the city of Winnipeg and safely into Lake Winnipeg (Winnipedia, nd). The Flood of 1997The winter of 1996-1997 was the worst snow mollify the area had ever experienced. There were 8 blizzards that dumped a record of 117 inch es of snow in Fargo and 98 inches of snow in Grand Fo! rks. For months in advance the April 1997 flood, the bailiwick prevail aid and North Dakota defer officials warned the communities of the impending floods. The North Dakota dry land?s February flood prescience was the Red River would spinning top at 49 feet, 21 feet above flood stage and 2 inches higher than the 1979 record. The North Dakota regulator warned the domain?s citizens of the flood season and urged residents to buy flood insurance. The Governor state a State of penury. The Spring unfreeze had begun in mid environ (USA Today, 2003). Communities ready for the impending floods. Levees nigh Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were raise to 52 feet. Towns in the plains of the Red River surrounded their communities with sandbags. Many schools were stop in March so that students could assist the sandbagging effort. The North Dakota State National apology dumped sand on the icy river in an effort to speed up up thawing in hopes of eliminating the ice jams o n the Red River. A late blizzard, the last of the season, potty Grand Forks in early April. This blizzard added 6 inches to the already double than normal snow pack. In mid April, the Spring thaw was in full effect. The amount of melting snow made water predictions difficult. Traditional methods of prediction became moot due to the extreme record of water; officials had to wait until the waters rose and calculate the amount of water. The prediction had remained at 49 feet until April 14, when it was raised to 50 feet. The prediction rose to 51 feet April 16, 52 feet April 17th, 53 feet on the aurora and 54 feet on the evening of April 18th. (USA Today, 2003). By April 17th, 47,500 of the 50,000 people in the Grand Forks area and 30,000 people from environ areas had evacuated to higher ground away from the Red River. The Red River had already crested above the 50 foot Army Corps of Engineers levees and was being held out of the city by the additional sandbags erected to 52 feet in the months in the beginning April. Shelter! s were set up at the Grand Forks Air baron base and in towns and cities in the area (USA Today, 2003). On April 18th, water from the Red River poured over the levees and filled the city with water. At 4:30 PM on April 18th, the water was at 52.19 feet and uprising by one inch per hour. By April 19th, there was nearly 4 feet of water covering 25 square miles of area surrounding the Grand Forks area. This equated to 50 pct of the metropolis of Grand Forks, North Dakota and nearly the entire urban center of East Grand Forks, Minnesota. More than 300 homes and business were completely at a lower place water. The River crested on April 21st at 54.11 feet; 26 feet above the flood stage. At the flood?s peak, the water was stream at 140,000 third-dimensional feet per second. The normal water flow is 780 cubic feet per second (PBS, nd). The water began to recede on April 22nd. in enkindle of appearance years, the water level in Grand Forks had dropped to down the stairs the 49 foot level and residents were allowed to reenter the cities to begin cleanup. The citizens of Winnipeg had seen the flooding and bareness that taken with(p) Grand Forks. Within a matter of days ulterior on the Grand Forks flood, an emergency dike later called the ?Brunkild Z-dike?, was constructed 15 miles long along the south side of Winnipeg. The flood waters splashed over the top of the levees, but never make full the City of Winnipeg. Many communities around the city were make full, but the city was spared (Winnipedia, nd). breakdown of Collaborate commissionOne major profound issue was the faulty crest level prediction of the Red River. The National live service had predicted the river would crest at 49 feet, below the level of the levees. The predictions were revise just days in the beginning the Red River crested at 54 feet above flood level. The National Weather portion was unprepared for the volume of water the snow produced. Many of the arrangement stations provided false number because water was no! n change of location traditional routes. The predictions could not be made until the water was truly rising and calculated. The National Weather Service realized this problem early.
They did not change their predictions, but also advised the macrocosm of the flawed accuracy of the predictions. The stomach service advised the state governing body, that the flood would be greater than it ever had been before. Based on these recommendations, The State of North Dakota declared a State of Emergency nearly two months before the flood. Many people in the area and in government criticized the prediction methods of t he National Weather Service. One meteorologist suffered damage to his own home because he did not heed the warning of his own agency (PBS, nd). The flood levels had never risen that high and legion(predicate) thought they were safe from the flood and did evacuate and take possessions from the area until the last minute. The Government had the sumptuousness of time to prepare, as much as possible, for the impending flood. The state harnessed resources from the federal, state, and local levels in preparation. They set up shelters and arranged evacuations prior to the cresting of the Red River. receivable to the time of warnings and planning for the flood, undoubtedly many lives were saved. Economically, the area suffered over $2 billion dollars in damages. There were 8600 homes, 75% of the total homes in the Grand Forks area, and 1616 apartments, 28% in the area, damaged or destroyed. Businesses in the area were obligate to close for repairs and replenishment (Winnipeg ou t-of-doors Press, 2007). Schools were damaged and cl! osed until they were cleaned and repaired. The federal official Emergency steering government agency (FEMA) assisted business and homeowners in re structure and repairing. Days later on the happening, Congress pledged 700 million dollars to assist in the cleanup (PBS, nd). The Federal Emergency counselling chest of drawers also sent thousands of mobile trailers for the people that throw their homes and were displaced could live temporary until they could build their homes again and get on with their lives. Farming is the main industry in the area. Sugar beets, sunflowers, beans, and potatoes are grown and processed in the Grand Forks area. Millions of dollars in stored products were flooded and ruined by the waters. There are two lucre mills in the area that were closed due to water damage. The field where the crops are grown could only be partially used. Much of the topsoil had been moved and replaced with silt and debris. Many typewriter ribbon sat idle throu ghout the season while the handle were repaired and the prepared for the next season. This affected the global prices of many products Reid, 2003). The flood displaced 80,000 people. Once they were allowed to return, many saw there homes and much of their lives in shambles. The cities had 13 days without water, and 23 days without drinkable water. quint deaths were attributed to the flood, by association. During the flood, the historic areas of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were downstairs several feet of water. A fire erupted downtown, causing 11 make to burn down. The Fire Departments could not putout the fire. Water drops were made be the Department of Forestry to extinguish the flames (USA Today, 2002). After the waters receded, thousands of volunteers flocked to the area from around that state and country. The volunteers helped to repair and rebuild the city. Joan Kroc, heiress to the McDonalds Corporation, donated $2000 to every firm affected by the flood. In 2007 was the 10th anniversary of this far-famed fl! ood that devastated this area. The citizens that went through this flood still talk or so it. The people of the area say that nothing is the same and everything has been rebuilt. The only thing that is the same is the people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has done numerous case studies and research on this flood. This contingency was the largest evacuation flood evacuation in the history of the United States next to Hurricane Katrina. ReferencesShelby, A (2004) Red River Rising: The Anatomy of a Flood and the Survival of an American City Wadena, MN Borealis BooksThe ?Fargo Flood? Homepage Retrieved on 10-17-08 from http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/Northern Plains flooding at a glance. (2002) Retrieved may 20, 2007 from www.usatoday.comRed River Flood of 1997. (nd). Retrieved May 20, 2007 from http://winnipedia.caReid, Russell. (2003) North Dakota History. Fargo, ND. State Historical Society. vague (Associated Press). Flood of criticism from 1997 floods: Did f aulty forecasts add to disaster? USA Today. Retrieved on May 20, 2007 from www.usatoday.com/weatherUnknown. 2007, April 17). Grand Forks Celebrates metempsychosis: City recovers after flooding 10 years ago. Winnipeg Free Press If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website:
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