Red River Flood of 1997

The Red River Flood of 1997

Geography 2152G
Professor Mark Moscicki

Mitchel McCabe – 250590151
Submitted: Wednesday April 3rd, 2013

Description of the event The Red River Flood of 1997 was a colossal flood that occurred along the Red River of the North in April and May of 1997. The Red River of the North basin is located in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States, as well as in southern Manitoba, Canada. (figure 1-map) This flood was the most severe on this river since 1826 and was referred to by the media as “The Flood of the Century.” (3)
Flooding began in the southern portion of the basin on the weekend of April 4-6, where Breckenridge, MN had over 500 buildings damaged, and over a quarter of its residents were forced to evacuate. (2). The Flooding then travelled north, not causing major damages until it reached the towns of Grand Folks, ND and East Grand Folks, MN which lie on opposite sides of the river. The people of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks began flood preparations to protect the cities from a 49-foot flood crest; however, the cities ' preparations did not anticipate the extent of the flooding as the actual flood crested at 54.33 feet (4). On April 18, the force of the rising water destroyed the dikes that protected the cities, and by early the next morning, all of East Grand Forks and half of Grand Forks were inundated. (2) Concern grew when the media began showing the mass flooding combined with, ironically enough, a large fire that had broken out in downtown Grand Folks, destroying 11 buildings including an entire city block. (4) The flood crest then continued on Northward into southern Manitoba. Although the flood caused about $500 million dollars damage to the city, flood control and damage reduction actions successfully averted losses which otherwise would have been disastrous (3). Miraculously no deaths were recorded from this catastrophic event, although the total damages were extremely substantial. It wasn’t until April 24 that government officials began to allow people back to what was left of their homes to begin the cleanup process, and reconstruction of homes and buildings continued for many years after.

CAUSES
Spring flooding’s of the Red River’s basin has occurred multiple times throughout the years, all of which typically resulting from snowmelt. When portions of the river further north remain frozen while the southern parts melt, the melted ice causes the water levels to rise above their banks and spread across the regions nearby. However, although the amount of snowfall is the direct factor, it is not the only determinant. Along with snowmelt, there are many other indirect factors that also affect whether or not heavy snowfall will result in flooding. Some of these factors include additional precipitation, frost depth, soil moisture and river ice conditions (2).
The disaster of the Red River Flood exhibited all the classic preconditions for a large flood in the area, and was a product of many different environmental factors that occurred in the year leading up to the flood. The fall of 1996 had abnormally high precipitation levels, which resulted in elevated soil moisture at the time of freeze up.(1). Along with that, an unusually long and cold winter followed, resulting in high water content for the snowpack into early spring. With these environmental factors in play, officials in the area were indicating major flooding, but flooding that was well within the capacity of the flood protection systems set in place. (5). It was not until April 4-6 when blizzard “Hannah” brought the present of winds over 60 mph, more than 20 inches of snow, and serious concern to the region. (2). In addition to the already heavy existing snowpack, this unusually severe storm added an amount of water to the basin approximately equal to the entire runoff during the last two recorded floods (3). This record snowfall was a critical event, taking what would have been a large but manageable flood into one that far exceeded nearby cities’ defenses. Impacts Economic While cities on the northern end of the Red River including Winnipeg, Manitoba, suffered flood related damages, nothing came close to the severe destruction that was felt in the sister cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. It is estimated that the total damage relating to these two cities was approximately 1.5 Billion dollars. (5). Along with the hit the government took with the damages, many residents suffered financially from the damages to their homes and belongings. Since the initial forecasts of the flood predicted its peak levels to be maintainable by the dikes, 79.6% of residents in the two cities did not acquire any flood insurance, and were left on their own to pay for damages. (2) Environmental The hard work and courageous flood fighting efforts of the affected citizens and intervening organizations kept the principal threat of death at a count of zero, as well as keeping the secondary impacts of environmentally related illnesses at a minimum. Some of the potential environmental health risks that come with a flood of this nature include direct exposure to toxic chemicals, inhalation of mold spores and toxins, consumption of contaminated drinking water, consumption of spoiled food (lack of electricity for properly cooking and cooling the food), and increased incidence of respiratory illnesses due to the sharing evacuation centers (5). The main environmental problem arising from this specific event was the flooding basements of over 80% of the homes in the cities of Grand Folk, and East Grand Folk. Electrical panels located in the basements of homes were destroyed which created not only a critical shortage of electricians in the time following the flood, but also the potential risk of spoiled food consumption. Along with the destroyed electrical panels, the overturning of fuel tanks in basements was another concern that arose from the flooded basements. Although no severe illnesses were reported, fuel oil was sucked into broken water mains, which forced sections of the water mains to be completely replaced as they were permanently contaminated. (5). Overall, organizations fighting the flood such as The Emergency Operations Center, Local Law enforcement, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), the USPHS (U.S Public Health Service) as well as Federal agents such as the Coast Guard, the Army reserve, the National Guard, the Air Force, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, did a phenomenal job working together in fighting off the potential environmental health risks that arose from this disaster.
Response
Describe the reaction to the specific disaster. Were there proactive responses to the hazard in place or were they more commonly reactive? Proactive Actions Due to the commonplace of floods occurring along the Red River, flood awareness systems were in place and many proactive actions were taken by surrounding cities to protect themselves from the potential damage of the upcoming flood. Since most large-scale floods of the Red River are the result of snowmelt rather than rainfall, officials have a long lead-time to track and prepare for potential floods of the area. The North Central River Forecast Center (NCRFC) located in Chanhassen, Minnesota monitors the volume of water flowing past a particular point, and issues a numerical forecast about two months prior to the expected peak flooding. (1). The cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks already had many dikes set in place to protect their cities, although they proved not to be enough. Reactive Actions
Ultimately, 8,500 army, navy, air force, and coast guard personnel were deployed in the largest Canadian military operation since the Korean War. These personnel supplemented a civilian “army” of several thousand provincial employees, countless engineers, surveyors, equipment operators and others with technical skills seconded from the private sector, and tens of thousands of volunteers who built and patrolled dykes, maintained pumps, managed evacuation centres and supported others with cooking, transportation, etc.. In all its aspects, the month-long emergency management operation was the largest in Canadian peacetime history

References
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(1)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy1.lib.uwo.ca/doi/10.1029/1999WR900215/abstract;jsessionid=B52CEC6F9C620E36A43AD9DF906D52E4.d04t01
(2)
http://www.wasis.ou.edu/docs/Pielke_1999.pdf
(3)
http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol01/Rannie.pdf

(4) http://webapp.und.edu/dept/library/Collections/og1351.html (5) http://search.proquest.com.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca/docview/219709303 Potential References:

Marital impacts of the flood http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca/tmp/13248444416857917592.pdf

References: Marital impacts of the flood http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca/tmp/13248444416857917592.pdf