Cairn in Grand Forks commemorating the 1997 flood

The Red River in Manitoba and the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota has flooded repeatedly through the centuries, endangering lives and property.

Past floods

The river is highly prone to flooding because of its northward flow. As spring approaches, the snow is melted from south to north alongside the riverflow. There is also the possibility that the surplus water can hit unmelted ice on the river and back up. The flatness of the terrain and small slope of the river is a significant factor.

The worst flood on record was in 1826, when settlers of the Selkirk Colony fled water reaching 11.1 m above the river bed.

Floods in 1948 and 1950 reached a high of 9.2 m at Winnipeg—causing 10,000 people to be evacuated and $606 million (in 1997 Canadian dollars) of damage, prompting the government of Manitoba to set up flood safety measures.

Significant floods also occurred in 1882, 1897, 1969, 1975, 1989, and 1996.

Origins of the 1997 flood

There were three main factors that contributed to the floods severity:

1. There was overabundant snowfall the past winter.
2. Spring rainstorms had saturated the ground so that it could not absorb much water.
3. A freak blizzard had just dumped a large amount of snow on the area.

All this moisture had to go somewhere.

The flood in North Dakota and Minnesota

The Red River forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota. Few cities lie directly on the river, with the most notable exception being Grand Forks, North Dakota and its sister city East Grand Forks, Minnesota, although other cities saw significant flooding and damage as well, including Fargo-Moorhead and Wahpeton-Breckenridge. Much of the flooding occurred not only from the rising river, but from overland flooding, as the flooded Red River was unable to drain meltwater away, necessitating dikes on both the riverfront and around the edges of towns.

There was some sense of imminent threat in Grand Forks, but little time to prepare. The cities evacuated and did what they could to bolster the levees, with extensive help from surrounding communities. Unfortunately, on April 18, 1997 the Red River spilled over the levees in Grand Forks and into the cities. The downtown areas, closest to the river, were almost completely destroyed. Few areas of the cities were not touched by the water. The river returned to its banks on April 28, but a lot of water lingered into May.

The flood made national news. The most familiar footage would probably be the fire that ironically blazed downtown, surrounded by floodwaters. The Grand Forks Herald building was totally destroyed in the fire, along with 120 years of archives.

All told, there was $2 billion USD in damage to Grand Forks by the flood. A nationwide outpouring of support helped speed the area's recovery.

The flood in Manitoba

The province constructed the Red River Floodway in 1968, put up permanent dikes in eight towns south of Winnipeg, and built clay dikes and diversion dams in the Winnipeg area. Other flood control structures completed later were the Portage Diversion, and the Shellmouth Dam on the Assiniboine. But even with these flood protection measures, in 1997 the province experienced a flood of 7.5 m, which caused 28,000 people to be evacuated and $500 million CAD in damage to property and infrastructure. Called "The Flood of the Century", the 1997 flood had a probability of occurrence of about 1 in 100, and came close to overcoming Winnipeg's existing flood protection system.

Towns upriver in Manitoba, forewarned by footage of Grand Forks buildings burning and covered in metres of water, built ring dikes to protect their homes and properties, and the province of Manitoba called in the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the provincial Department of Natural Resources. Thousands of volunteers also helped to build sandbag dikes around homes and property.

Almost all of the ring dikes around the towns held, save one—St. Agathe . The town's dike system was prepared for the river approaching from the south, but the river had spread and swamped the town from the west.

At the flood's peak in Canada on May 4, the Red River occupied an area of 1,840 km² with more than 2,560 km² of land underwater. Nicknamed the "Red Sea", this temporary lake forced about 75,000 people to abandon their homes. $450 million in damage was caused.

The province of Manitoba asked the International Joint Commission (IJC) to provide a report on the flood event and to recommend measures to ensure further flood protection for the city of Winnipeg. Largely as a result of this study, the province now plans on expanding the floodway.

External links

• CNN stories from the 1997 flood
• CBC Archive on Red River flooding
• GrandForksFlood.com
• NDSU Geology page on Red River floods