Monday, March 30, 2009

Winnipeg Sun: Ma Nature is 'not cool'

Ma Nature is 'not cool'

Snowstorm is a knee-slapper, but flood evacuations aren't so funny, lady

By KEVIN ENGSTROM

This must be Mother Nature's version of March Madness.

Amidst signs all around us that spring had finally sprung in these parts, Ma Nature pulled the rug out from under us this past week, blasting us with the snowstorm of the year just as we were starting to dream about summers at the cottage and beers on the patio.

Instead of dusting off the golf clubs, we were pulling out the snow shovels. Blurg.

If this wasn't bad enough, now we're hearing words and phrases like sandbags, ice jams, evacuations and the ultimate redundant phrase, overland flooding -- as opposed to the flooding that happens under the land or over the water.

The situation is even worse south of the border, where the city of Fargo went into the weekend facing its potential Armageddon as the bloated Red River surged to heights higher than 1997.

We're hoping for the best for our American friends, but it wasn't exactly an encouraging sign on Thursday when the Fargo's mayor started placing odds on the city's survival, then added, "Those are actually favourable odds in Vegas."

Yes, it's safe to say at this point Tony Soprano's mom treated him better than Ma Nature is treating her peeps in the Red River Valley lately.

And that's saying something considering Mrs. Soprano tried to have Tony whacked.

What could we have done to make Mother Nature such a raging female dog towards us?

Could it be the lingering resentment that our local economy hasn't fallen into recession? Is she a secret Tory and upset about the NDP sweep in Tuesday's byelections?

Perhaps she's still annoyed that we inflicted Streetheart on the world ...?

Whatever it is, Ma Nature, you've had your fun. Now you need to let us off the hook.

Don't get us wrong, we love the gallows humour as much as anyone, but you've taken the joke too far.

Letting us shovel a small mountain of snow in the spring is a riot, but forcing thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes in search of higher ground, not knowing what they're going to return to, is totally not cool.

Such a scenario is unimaginable to us and --jokes aside -- leave us thankful nobody we personally know and love has to endure such hardship.

For the people going through it, we can only offer our sympathies, a set of hands to help with sandbag efforts, and the desperate hope Mother Nature will ease up on the ugly weather for awhile.

There's a lot of peeps who can't take much more of this.

Waters move north: Manitoba drowns in flood fears

Municipal leaders unsure if they can win battle against rising Red River

WEST ST. PAUL, Man. -- Despite Fargo's new relief in withstanding the swollen Red River's crest, at least so far, municipal leaders north of Winnipeg fear they may be in over their heads in their battle against Manitoba's flood.

"I'm really concerned about the volumes," Steve Strang, mayor of St. Clements, said yesterday of the surging Red River, which had appeared to crest hours earlier in Fargo, N.D. "I don't know if we can ever be prepared enough."

With the river's peak expected to hit the border town of Emerson possibly by April 5 and Winnipeg between April 11 and 16, Manitoba officials say they're pulling out all stops to ward off disaster.

Strang became emotional while suggesting a "don't- panic" message from flood forecasters is cold comfort to owners of up to 200 threatened homes in the region around Selkirk and Lockport, just north of Winnipeg.

"I'm not prepared to stand in front of my citizens and tell them, 'Don't worry about it", Strang said. "We're going to do everything we can to protect our citizens. Everything."

Steve Ashton, Manitoba's minister for emergency measures, joined Strang and area mayors and reeves at West St. Paul's municipal complex to present a united front.

"We're looking at any and all kinds of resources that we need," Ashton said.

Those resources include tube dikes and culvert-thawing steamers, which the province is purchasing and trying to bring in from other jurisdictions as soon as possible.

While modern water-filled tube diking - seen as far more effective than sandbags - is in place at some riverbank sites north of Winnipeg, at least 300 more sections costing about $1,200 US each are expected to arrive from Calgary, possibly tomorrow.

"What we did in 12 hours here could take four, five or six days with sandbags," West St. Paul Mayor Clifford Dearman said while showing off 10 such 50-foot-long tubes piled up to hold off the Red River at the Royal Manitoba Yacht Club just north of the city.

"Sandbags are horse-and-buggy. This is NASCAR."

About two-dozen steamers will cost a total of $200,000 and assist in thawing ice which has prevented runoff from flowing in culverts, said Manitoba Water Stewardship official Steve Topping.

Don Forfar, reeve of St. Andrews, lauded local media for getting word out that volunteers are needed for sandbagging and other tasks.

"We're going to need them probably for weeks, not hours or days," Forfar said. "I beg you to get that message out there. We need volunteers to keep showing up and helping."

Sun

Holding their breath in the Valley

A soaked school, a brewing blizzard and ice jams offset the good news of a lower Red River. The flood fight is far from finished.

Star-Tribune

Blizzard Warning

MPR Meteorologist Paul Huttner: Blizzard Warning

Friday, March 27, 2009

Washington Post: Thousands Flee Fargo as Floodwaters Surge in N.D.

FARGO, N.D., Mar. 27 -- As thousands of residents left North Dakota's largest city Friday, others stayed and prayed that miles of sandbagged levees would hold against the surging Red River.

The ice-laden river is expected to crest Sunday at 42 feet -- two feet higher than the record set 112 years ago.

NY Times: Fargo Suburb Evacuated as Waters Rise

Fargo Neighborhood Evacuated as Waters Rise

MOORHEAD, Minn. Residents of about 2,700 homes were urged to leave this riverside city on Friday, as the Red River surpassed its highest level in history. And as volunteers here noted wearily, the river was likely to bloat further on Saturday.

Obama Oops

Gateway pundit here points out the absurd.

North Dakota Suffers Record Cold Year But Obama Blames Global Warming For Flooding Anyway

Janet Napolitano: Worst case scenario 80,000 to 100,000 people evacuated

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said amid "historically unprecedented" flooding in the Red River valley between the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, the government had readied itself to house and feed 30,000 people for up to a week.

Hospitals and scores of homes were evacuated Friday (local time) as snow-melts swelled the Red River, breaching at least one levee and threatening kilometres of sandbag dykes set up by volunteers.

"The river has not even crested yet," Ms Napolitano said. "In the worst case scenario, we could be dealing with 80,000 to 100,000 people evacuated."

But Ms Napolitano said the vast majority of potential evacuees - around 77 per cent - would likely stay with family or friends, leaving the Government to care for the rest.

ABC (Australia) News

BBC: Red River hits record high in US

Red River hits record high in US

The Red River in the mid-Western US has reached its highest level in 112 years and is expected to keep on rising, US authorities say.

It rose to 40.63ft (12.4m) at 1615 GMT, exceeding the previous record of 40.1ft set in 1897 in Fargo, North Dakota.

Scores more residents were ordered to evacuate their homes as the rising waters breached one of the dykes.

President Barack Obama has sent Nancy Ward, acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to Fargo.

“ We want to go down swinging if we go down ”
Dennis Walaker Fargo Mayor

He issued a federal disaster declaration for parts of Minnesota and the entire state of North Dakota earlier this week.

Authorities in Fargo evacuated around 150 homes in the early hours of Friday, along with hospitals, clinics and a county jail.

Evacuations were also carried out across the river in Moorhead, Minnesota.

A spokesman for the US Army Corps of Engineers said a small amount of water was leaking through a crack in one of the dykes, adding that a contingency dyke had been built behind it.

Some 800 guards are being brought in to monitor the dykes, in addition to the 900 already in place, the mayor of Fargo said.

"We want to go down swinging if we go down," Mayor Dennis Walaker told reporters.

Several factors are said to be behind the river's historic rise. The unusually cold winter left a snowpack sitting on top of frozen ground that could not absorb it.

This was followed by a warm snap with heavy rain, which melted the snow and sent it toward the north-flowing river.

More snow is forecast to fall on the Red River valley in the coming days, and rain next week could worsen flood conditions.

40.67 feet

Thousands flee Fargo ahead of menacing floodwaters

CNN "Journalist", others arrested on Fargo dikes

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A CNN journalist and seven other people have been arrested for standing on top of sandbag levees in the Fargo area.

Fargo Police Sgt. Ross Renner didn't have many details of the journalist's arrest, but said the man appeared to be taking pictures at the time.

He says officers made the arrests Wednesday and Thursday after seeing people climb on the dikes. Renner says police will arrest anyone they see on top of a dike out of concern for people's safety and the integrity of the levees. He says it's likely all those arrested have been released.

A CNN spokesman says the cameraman had been shooting video and was unaware of any restrictions on climbing the dikes. The journalist was released on bail.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Video: River of Destruction

Winnipeg to assist in Fargo evacuations

The Winnipeg Fire Department will send a response vehicle to help evacuate hospital and personal care facilities in Fargo, North Dakota.

The Major Incident Response Vehicle will be sent to Fargo today and is intended for use in potential "mass casualty situations."

The vehicle can carry eight stretcher patients or 10 ambulatory patients per trip.

The unit leaves Fire Station #1 around 11 a.m. today.

Winnipeg Sun

River Reaches 112 Year High at Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The Red River rose to a daunting 112-year high early Friday and breached one of the dikes fortifying the city, but the mayor pledged to "go down swinging" as he called for more evacuations and additional National Guard troops to prevent a devastating flood.

The river swelled to 40.32 feet — more than 22 feet above flood stage and inches more than the previous high water mark of 40.1 feet set in 1897. It was expected to crest as high as 43 feet on Saturday. Fargo's main dike protects the city at the 43-foot level.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker says the city has no plans to build the dike any higher. He says officials believe the Red River will crest at between 41.5 and 42 feet, and there wasn't time to raise the dike again.

"We're not going to proceed to take it to 44. Is that a gamble? We don't think so," Walaker said.

Star-Tribune:

Red River rising into history

RED RIVER VALLEY -- One more day, two more feet.

That's how far away more than 125,000 residents of Fargo and Moorhead are from finding out whether their communities will be devastated by the swollen Red River of the North.

The Red rose to a level never seen in recorded history this morning in the biggest communities in its path, fueling fears that the cities could suffer a catastrophic failure of their flood defenses.

The river's level stood at 40.6 feet at 10:15 a.m., surpassing the previous record of 40.1 feet reached 112 years ago, and continued its rise to a crest that could reach as high as 43 feet by Saturday afternoon.

Ice jams continue to cause problems in flood areas of Manitoba

WINNIPEG — Sandbagging continues in Manitoba to guard against the early stages of spring flooding from the Red River.

Evacuation alerts have already been issued to 850 people from the Roseau River First Nation and Riverside near the U.S. border. About 95 elders and those with chronic conditions were taken by charter buses to Winnipeg from Roseau River on Thursday as a precaution.

Meanwhile, authorities were keeping an eye on ice jams just north of Winnipeg. A blockage near the community of Lockport, Man., led to the evacuation of 40 homes earlier in the week. It broke up, but has since re-formed down the river.

Northwest planes to help evacuate Fargo residents

MSN

ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc. is supplying some aircraft from its Northwest Airlines subsidiary to offer free charters to evacuate elderly residents and people in assisted living facilities in Fargo, N.D., which is preparing for the possibility of heavy flooding.

LiveLeak Video: US Coast Guard Rescue

U.S. Coast Guard HH-6575 "Dolphin" rescues six during the Red River flood in Fargo, N.D., March 25, 2009. The crew, Lt. David Ober, Lt. Brendan Evans, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin Davis and Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Wheeler, was deployed March 24 from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., in response to the Red River flood.

USCG video

Great LA Times Graphic on Flood

Holy Bucket

From The Winnipeg Free Press

"I saw those National Guardsmen, and the police cars escorting the sand trucks, and I thought holy bucket, this is really going to happen this time..."

Fargo Fights For its Life

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Coast Guard evacuates Red River homes

Not many people know that the US Coast Guard is in the valley and helping out.

Geology set the Red River on a course for flooding

The Star Tribune has a good article on the geology and history of the Red River.

Blame the Ice Age glacial lake that left the river in a flat, wide valley.

By RICHARD MERYHEW

Stick a river that flows north into one of the flattest stretches of land on the face of the Earth and what do you get?

Trouble.

That is why folks in the Red River Valley seem to spend spring after spring stacking sandbags, watching the skies and worrying about frost depth, rate of melt and ice jams.

In a region that slopes inches per mile, all it takes is a rapid thaw or an ice dam to send the meandering Red River over its banks and put miles of the valley under water.

"It's like taking a glass of water and pouring it on the top of a table," said Kevin Dean, public information officer for the city of Grand Forks, N.D.

"The water just goes everywhere. Everything's flat. That's really hard for a lot of people to understand. But it's just so flat that when it floods, it has everywhere to go and there's nothing to stop it."

It's been that way for nearly 10,000 years......

Read the whole thing

Evacuations Underway

From Valley News Live

BREAKING NEWS: Parts Of Oakport Evacuating

Posted in: Valley News Live Top Headlines, Valley News Live Flood Watch

By
Mar 26, 2009 - 6:06:18 PM

Parts of Oakport Township north of Moorhead are going under and people on the west side of the coulee are being told to get out now. Second Street and Broadway are expected to go under soon, and that will limit escape routes.

Volunteers Still Needed in Fargo Area

Volunteers needed to finish massive flood dike push

Posted in: Valley News Live Local/Regional, Valley News Live Local/Regional Mobile, Valley News Live Flood Watch, Valley News Live Top Headlines

By Daron Selvig, Valley News Live - Fargo
Mar 26, 2009 - 2:46:19 PM

Fargo City Commissioner Tim Mahoney and Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker give a news conference Thursday.

Fargo's flood fight is going well, with no dike breaches at this time. However, sandbaggers are needed to continue a massive push to be ready for a record river crest.

At an afternoon news conference, Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said the dikes are in good shape, but the dikes will need to withstand a crest now predicted at 41.2 feet Saturday.

Volunteers are urged to call the volunteer hotline before heading out to assist with flood fighting efforts. The volunteer hotline number is 701-476-4000. This will help coordinators stagger volunteers.

No emergency has been ordered in Fargo yet. "We have a tremendous amount of confidence" in the city's dikes, the engineers who designed them, and the volunteers out making and placing sandbags, said Police Chief Keith Ternes. "However, it is prudent to have an evacuation plan if the need arises."

There is no plan now for an evacuation, but if one is ordered, authorities have divided Fargo into seven small sectors to plan it "in a managed way," Ternes said.

The city would use the Code Red and Emergency Broadcast Systems to contact residents will instructions on where they should go. The city's evacuation directives would likely send people to the central core of the city, which is Fargo's highest point. Ternes said it is almost impossible to be more specific at this time.

Fargo is building secondary dikes to protect the city in case the first line of defense fails. At a news conference this morning, Walaker stressed the contingency dikes are there for one purpose: to protect the city.

"We hope the water will never reach the contingency dikes," Walaker said, "but everybody has to take precautions." He reminded people to move their important belongings out of lower levels of homes; things like critical documents, photographs, and mementos.

Walaker said people on the wrong side of dikes will have to be sure to have cars ready on the other side.

"We do not people do go out and panic, because that will not solve anything," Walaker said. But Walaker told homeowners, "If the dike is breached, we need to know immediately so we can try to contain it," Walaker said. "Response time is extremely important."

The city says they are getting too many 911 calls from people who think they see dike failures. Only people who actually witness water gushing out of a dike are being told to call 911. Otherwise, those who see water on the other side of a dike should know that might only be from snow melt or rain. Those who aren't sure, and who want to report a possible dike issue, are asked to call 241-1545.

Military on standby in Manitoba as water rises

From Canada.com

WEST ST. PAUL, Man. — As flood-threatened communities north of Winnipeg face an "almost unprecedented" series of critical flood risks — ice jams, snowfalls, and a huge volume of water heading toward them from the U.S. — the Canadian military is prepared to act.

The defence department has put the military "on standby, ready to provide resources, if need be," Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told journalists Thursday.

"At this point, obviously, the problems have not become so severe that it requires a major operation, but we're watching it very closely," Van Loan said.

But people bracing for the floodwaters were accusing the federal government Thursday of sitting on its hands while an emergency looms.

More "proactive" flood prevention is needed, said Mayor Steve Strang of St. Clements, 45 kilometres northeast of St. Andrews, where at least 10 homes have been flooded and another 40 are at risk.

More than two weeks before the Red River has crested, he said damage in St. Clements is already estimated in the millions. The province, municipalities and volunteers can't do it on their own, Strang said. "We need the federal government to step up."

"The federal government's got to change their attitude," added Don Forfar, reeve of nearby St. Andrews, Man., where dozens of homes have flooded.

But Forfar praised the helping spirit of Manitobans.

Unprecedented Conditions in Fargo

SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT: Red River crest in Fargo raised to 42 feet, could even hit 43 feet

In a stunning blow, the National Weather Service has raised the crest prediction to between 41 and 42 feet and potentially as high as 43 feet by Saturday for the Red River at Fargo-Moorhead.

From the National Weather Service

Unprecedented Record Crest Expected at Fargo

CONDITIONS ON THE RED RIVER AT FARGO HAVE GROWN INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. THE RIVER IS CURRENTLY APPROACHING RECORD LEVELS AND SHOWING NO SIGN OF SLOWING AT THIS POINT. AS THE RIVER EXCEEDS THE PREVIOUS RECORD LEVEL...THE RELATIVE UNCERTAINTY IN FORECAST MODELS HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. RECORD FLOWS UPSTREAM OF FARGO HAVE PRODUCED UNPRECEDENTED CONDITIONS ON THE RED RIVER. GIVEN THESE FACTORS...THE RIVER IS EXPECTED TO BEHAVE IN WAYS NEVER PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED. THE CREST FORECAST AT FARGO IS NOW EXPECTED TO BE BETWEEN 41 AND 42 FEET BY SATURDAY...BUT COULD POTENTIALLY BE AS HIGH AS 43 FEET...AND CONTINUE FOR 3 TO 7 DAYS.

Red River 2009