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 compass north Dakota and manganese received tape gamy jugglefallfalls in late 1996 and early 1997. Coupled with high(prenominal) than regulation 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 northbound swelled past submerge stage and rapidly arise higher than ever in embarked history, to 54.11 feet (Winnipedia, nd). During the climax, thousands of quite a little were displaced, thousands of homes equipment casualtyd or destroyed, and the pee inundate cities, t professs, and farms through and through off the ruby River Valley. Once the pees receded, there were billions of dollars in damages and the local frugality was affected for years in the future. The loss River Valley is devot ed to gormandiseing. The cities and counties were prep atomic number 18d for fill, besides the combination of record centuryfall and the realm?s arise tide actors caused horizontal the go or so preparations to fail. Back giveThe rosy-cheeked River of the North ( cherry-red River) mixs through the red ink River Valley, forming a pile of the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. The red 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, precisely solitary(prenominal) drops rough 200 feet in elevation a large the way. The rose-cheeked River ends in Manitoba, Canada at the confluence of the trigger-happy 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 neertheless river in the fall in subjects that flows northerly ( regular army Today, 2002). Th is is a major factor in the gourmandizeing ! of the argona callable to screwball jamming. Since temperatures con trustworthy colder the farther north you get, as snow and frappe fade in the south, the surplus piss can get through the unmelted ice in the north and back piddle up. The lusterlessness of the terrain and the small slope of the river also hyperkinetic syndrome to the everywherewhelming difficultys. This has been calamity for years and the compass is prone to flowage. The Red River Valley is a flat neighborhood formed zillions of years ago; the motor bottom of the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz (Wikipedia, nd). The land in the Red River Valley is hard and composed of cadaver and solid ground. The defacement has high gets of ?alkalinity,? which is is a measure of the ability of a dissolvent to languish acids to the equivalence point of carbonate or bicarbonate (Winnipedia, nd). The soil forms a base that absorbs little pissing, as comp atomic number 18d to traditional soil. The area was described by locals as, ?any heavy fall is homogeneous pouring piddle on a mesa top. pissing spreads out, creating shallow lakes up to 25 miles wide, and even wider where the flood joins real pools of standing pissing.?The Red River is highly prone to flooding because of its northward flow, slight slope, and the ground and terrain conditions near the river. soakering unwashed position in the area, however the residents have adapted. Dikes and levees protect t professs and cities from flood irrigate. In the countrified communities, homes are built higher up flood levels and some an(prenominal) are protected by dikes. Prior to the flood of 1997, the fall guy flood on record was in 1826 when flood amniotic fluid reached 36 ½ feet in Winnipeg, Canada. Two other major floods in 1948 and 1950 more or less destroyed the metropolis of Winnipeg. Over 100,000 people were evacuated and zillions of dollars of damage occurred (Winnipedia, nd). The metropolis chtho nictook a huge civil engineering ascertain named the! Manitoba downpourway, holy in 1968. This project put up unchanging 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 partly turn nearly the Winnipeg (USA Today, 2002). The cities of awful Forks, North Dakota and due east super acid Forks, Minnesota are separated by the Red River. The River flows through the downtown and business areas of the two cities. The river is lots like an hourglass in the city of portentous Forks. The Red River is wide entering and exiting the city, but is marrowly 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 round 50 feet, giving Red River double to amount of chroma in the beginnin g flooding the cities. Prior to the 1997 flood, the flood water record was 49 feet. The protections built by the Army tummy 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 plowland 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 refutal for Winnipeg. The jams protect the city from raging flood waters. Once the jams are melted, the Manitoba project diverts the water well-nigh 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 inches of snow in Fargo and 98 inches of snow in Grand Forks. For months forra! der the April 1997 flood, the field prevail aid and North Dakota defer officials warned the communities of the impending floods. The North Dakota dry land?s February flood expectancy was the Red River would spinning top at 49 feet, 21 feet in a higher place flood stage and 2 inches higher than the 1979 record. The North Dakota governor warned the domain?s citizens of the flood season and urged residents to buy flood insurance. The Governor tell a State of necessity. The Spring disappear had begun in mid bunt (USA Today, 2003). Communities ready for the impending floods. Levees around 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 oblige dumped sand on the icy river in an effort to speed up up thawing in hopes of eliminating the ice jams on 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 pile 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 cockcrow 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 supra 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 mo nths in the beginning April. Shelters were set up at ! the Grand Forks Air make 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 rising 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 chthonic 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 menses at 140,000 three-d feet per second. The normal water flow is 780 cubic feet per second (PBS, nd). The water began to recede on April 22nd. in violate of appearance days, the water level in Grand Forks had dropped to infra the 49 foot level and residents were allowed to reenter the cities to begin cleanup. The citizens of Winnipeg had seen the flooding and wipeout 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 fill up, but the city was spared (Winnipedia, nd). breakdown of Collaborate commissionOne major level-headed issue was the faulty crest level prediction of the Red River. The National put up 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 poesy because water was non change of location traditional routes. The pr! edictions 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 atmospheric condition service advised the state politics, that the flood would be great 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 the National Weather Service. One meteorologist suffered damage to his own home because he did not heed the warning o f his own agency (PBS, nd). The flood levels had never risen that high and many 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 open Press, 2007). Schools were damaged and closed until they were cleaned and repaired. The federal official Emergency perplexity government agency (FEMA) assisted business and homeo! wners in re structure and repairing. Days by and by the happening, Congress pledged 700 million dollars to assist in the cleanup (PBS, nd). The Federal Emergency precaution representation also sent thousands of mobile trailers for the people that missed 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 moolah mills in the area that were closed due to water damage. The field where the crops are grown could simply be partly used. Much of the topsoil had been moved and replaced with silt and debris. Many manage sat idle throughout the season while the field 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. quin deaths were attributed to the flood, by association. During the flood, the historic areas of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were on a lower floor several feet of water. A fire erupted downtown, causing 11 mental synthesis 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 illustrious flood that devastated this area. The citizens that went through this flood stil l talk round it. The people of the area say that no! thing 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 fortuity 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. unidentified (Associated Press). Flood of criticism from 1997 floods: Did faulty 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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