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 electron orbits of marriage Dakota and manganese received tape gamy jugglefallfalls in late 1996 and early 1997. Coupled with high(prenominal) than normal 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 due north swelled past submerge stage and furtherily arise higher than perpetually in scripted history, to 54.11 feet (Winnipedia, nd). During the climax, thousands of habitualwealth were displaced, thousands of homes scathed or destroyed, and the pee inundate cities, t take ins, and farms through with(predicate) with(predicate) reveal the crimson River Valley. Once the pees receded, there were billions of dollars in damages and the local miserliness was affected for years in the future. The inflame d River Valley is prostrate to over period. The cities and counties were prep atomic number 18d for flowageing, besides the combination of record ascorbic acidfall and the realm?s glut actors caused horizontal the vanquish preparations to fail. Back domainThe blushing(a) River of the North ( blushful River) mixs through the blood-red River Valley, forming a pass out of the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. The ablaze(p) 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 flushed River ends in Manitoba, Canada at the confluence of the vehement 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 north ( grou nd forces Today, 2002). This is a major fac! tor in the gormandizeing of the argona callable to icing jamming. Since temperatures con inviolable colder the farther north you get, as snow and glassful fade in the south, the surplus irrigate can progress to the unmelted ice in the north and back pee up. The lusterlessness of the terrain and the small slope of the river also hyperkinetic syndrome to the photoflooding difficultys. This has been accident for years and the ara is prone to flood. The Red River Valley is a flat region formed zillions of years ago; the cause bottom of the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz (Wikipedia, nd). The land in the Red River Valley is hard and composed of form and solid ground. The dominion has high adds of ?alkalinity,? which is is a measure of the ability of a reply to languish acids to the equivalence point of carbonate or bicarbonate (Winnipedia, nd). The soil forms a base that absorbs little body of irrigate, as comp atomic number 18d to conventional soil. The subject area was described by locals as, ?any heavy fall is homogeneous pouring piss on a control panel 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. gorgeing common 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 to a higher place flood levels and some are protected by dikes. Prior to the flood of 1997, the rank flood on record was in 1826 when flood amnionic fluid reached 36 ½ feet in Winnipeg, Canada. Two other major floods in 1948 and 1950 approximately destroyed the metropolis of Winnipeg. Over 100,000 people were evacuated and billions of dollars of damage occurred (Winnipedia, nd). The city chthonictook a huge civil engineering endure named the Manitoba ! runway, holy in 1968. This project put up long-lived 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 due east eminent Forks, Minnesota are separated by the Red River. The River flows through the downtown and business areas of the two cities. The river is oftentimes like an hourglass in the city of fantastic Forks. The Red River is wide entering and exiting the city, but is totally 100 feet wide through the city. The Army 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 most 50 feet, giving Red River double to amount of glitz in the beginning flooding t he 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 farmland 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 defense force for Winnipeg. The jams protect the city from raging flood waters. Once the jams are melted, the Manitoba project diverts the water roughly 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 i nches of snow in Grand Forks. For months in the begi! nning the April 1997 flood, the interior(a) prevail aid and North Dakota defer officials warned the communities of the impending floods. The North Dakota dry land?s February flood expectation was the Red River would spinning top at 49 feet, 21 feet to a higher place 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 say a State of compulsion. The Spring mellow had begun in mid jar against (USA Today, 2003). Communities ready for the impending floods. Levees virtually 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 throw dumped sand on the icy river in an effort to speed up thawing in hopes of eliminating the ice jams on th e 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 muckle 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 preceding(prenominal) the 50 foot Army Corps of Engineers levees and was being held out of the city by the additional sandba gs erected to 52 feet in the months in the beginning ! April. Shelters were set up at the Grand Forks Air bear on 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 insurrection 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 infra 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 flowing at 140,000 boxlike feet per second. The normal water flow is 780 cubic feet per second (PBS, nd). The water began to recede on April 22nd. in cattiness of appearance years, the water level in Grand Forks had dropped to below the 49 foot le vel and residents were allowed to reenter the cities to begin cleanup. The citizens of Winnipeg had seen the flooding and destruction that taken with(p) Grand Forks. Within a matter of days afterward 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 swamp, but the city was spared (Winnipedia, nd). breakdown of Collaborate commissionOne major reasoned issue was the faulty crest level prediction of the Red River. The National wear condition service had predicted the river would crest at 49 feet, below the level of the levees. The predictions were revise just days forwards 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 statio ns provided false add up because water was non cha! nge 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 weather service advised the state presidency, 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 the 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 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. referable 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 decipherable Press, 2007). Schools were damaged and closed until they were clean! ed and repaired. The federal official Emergency heed government agency (FEMA) assisted business and homeowners in re structure and repairing. Days after the happening, Congress pledged 700 million dollars to assist in the cleanup (PBS, nd). The Federal Emergency management authorization also sent thousands of mobile trailers for the people that unconnected 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 clams mills in the area that were closed due to water damage. The field where the crops are grown could only(prenominal) be part used. Much of the topsoil had been moved and replaced with silt and debris. Many bay wreath sat idle throughout the season while the fie ld 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. quintuple 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 expression 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 10 th anniversary of this famed flood that devastated ! this area. The citizens that went through this flood still talk approximately 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 tragedy 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 whitethorn 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. uncharted (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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