Frederic P Miller

1997 Red River Flood Frederic P Miller

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Red River Flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826. The flood reached throughout the Red River Valley, affecting the cities of Fargo and Winnipeg, but none so greatly as in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, where floodwaters reached over 3 miles inland, inundating virtually everything in the twin communities. Flooding in Manitoba resulted in over $500 million in damages, although the Red River Floodway, an artificial waterway affectionately known as "Duff's Ditch" saved Winnipeg from flooding. This flood stimulated improvements to the flood protection system. In Grand Forks, although hundreds of people prepared for the flood with sandbag dikes, based on a 49-foot estimate of flooding set by the National Weather Service, the river crested at 54 feet in Grand Forks. Grand Forks mayor Pat Owens had to order the evacuation of over 50,000 people as a large portion of the city would eventually be flooded.