Red River Valley Flooding OT

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, Fargo, Grand Forks are bracing for a huge flood, Obama declared it a sta of emrgency, this is affecting the Red River areas of ND , Minnesota, and Manitoba.

Southern Manitoba will be flooded severely, Winnipeg is protected with a huge floodway around the entire Metro area.

I live north of Winnipeg, just 2.5 miles from the Red River, I will be safe too, but water may come as close as a mile or so away, once the banks sart flooding up here.

Here is a CBC News pic of one of the 2 amphidex machines we have , there sued to break river ice, to try and prevent ice jamming, Lockport dam 7 miles south of my place and 12 miles north of Winnipeg is packed with Ice Jams on it's southside, creating many complications.....Fred

[Young Ed]

Stay dry up there Fred. I know its on the news here a lot. They are saying the red is going to 43in now.

[Merle Coggins]

I've heard reports saying that the flooding may be worse that the big floods back in '96 or '97, or whenever it was. I was through that area in the summer of '97 on a motorcycle trip. We camped in Morris, Manitoba (south of Winnipeg) and while there we saw a lot of flood damage and the aftermath of it.

I can't imagine going through all that agan just 12 or so years later.

Merle

[Young Ed]

The big one was 97 the year I graduated

[55 Fargo]

I've heard reports saying that the flooding may be worse that the big floods back in '96 or '97, or whenever it was. I was through that area in the summer of '97 on a motorcycle trip. We camped in Morris, Manitoba (south of Winnipeg) and while there we saw a lot of flood damage and the aftermath of it.

I can't imagine going through all that agan just 12 or so years later.

Merle

Merle, were you at the Morris Stampede and Rodeo. If yoy u like camping theres lots here, around Winnipeg and Southern Manitoba it's like Kansas farmland, but go a short distance north or east , and it's all pine,birch and and timber, lake country.....Fred

[Merle Coggins]

Merle, were you at the Morris Stampede and Rodeo. If yoy u like camping theres lots here, around Winnipeg and Southern Manitoba it's like Kansas farmland, but go a short distance north or east , and it's all pine,birch and and timber, lake country.....Fred

No rodeos. We were in Billings MT for a national Gold Wing rally. From there we went up and spend a couple days in and around the Glacier National Park area. Then we headed north again into Canada. We picked up Hwy 1 and headed east. We spend one night in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, then on towards Winnepeg where we turned south. We spend the next night in Morris. As I recall it was a campground at a fairground type area. Then we continued south into Fargo to pick up I-94 back home. It was a 2 week trip and we accumulated around 4000 miles. It was good to get back home, but I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Merle

[bigred48]

We just left Fargo last night after deciding that it was not looking good. I hope the dikes hold or it seems like the whole town will be underwater. But I am afraid that Fargo may be in trouble. The most amazing part of all of this was the turn out of volunteers, and the effort of complete strangers to help people from town.

[Young Ed]

Andy is that where you go to school?

[bigred48]

O I forgot to add that the flood levels are at 40.5 ft so far and projected to go to 42 ft to put this in perspective the 97 flood crested at 39 ft.

[T120]

The most amazing part of all of this was the turn out of volunteers, and the effort of complete strangers to help people from town.

While disasters such as this are a terrible thing,The work of those volunteers

is admirable and a reminder that the majority of people in this world are really decent

[bigred48]

Yep I'm an engineering student at NDSU in Fargo. We have been sandbagging like crazy all week the canceled all classes for the week to get us out there.

check out some pictures of it at

http://www.ndsu.edu/news/flood/

or the rest of the info at

http://valleyfloodwatch.com/

supposedly campus is safe from the flooding but just to be safe I left to get my car away from all that water.

[RobertKB]

Fred, stay dry but if all of Manitoba floods come out west to Alberta! Bring the Chrysler and you can put it in my garage.

[55 Fargo]

Robert during a huge flood in Manitoba in the 1870s or 1880s, a big portion of the Winnipeg region was flooded, but there was dry land up high at present day Stony Mountain prison,(it has been a prison since 1873), where I work, so thats where the car would go to high ground....LOL

[Plymouthy Adams]

when I was just a wee lad in elementary school I was standing near the creekbank during a flash flood in the area...and lo and behold here came somethng shinny bobbing on the crest...now if you knew the area I grew up you would also be surprised to what it was...a TUBA...of all things...have never forgot that to this day..

Fred...maybe if you get a big rope and a grapple hook you can get some parts as they flow past...

[Norm's Coupe]

All we can do is hope and wish for the best for those in the area. But, I have to agree with what one resident of the area said on TV the other night. He said. "This is the third time in recent years I've had to clean the flood mess out of my house. We're moving." I would have done that the first time I got flooded, there would be no second time around.

[B-Watson]

The Canaidan towns south of Winnipeg all have permanent dikes around them and there is a floodway east of Winnipeg to move the water around the city and dump it back into the Red River north of Lockport (which is in St.Andrews).

There is also a dike south of Winnipeg on the west side of the Red River that stretches out for 40 miles. This one prevents the flood waters from backing up into the LaSalle River which empties into the Red on the north side of the floodway's control gate.

For anyone living outside these areas, the province can tell homeowners the elevation of the land their home is/will be on, and the suggested height to be above the flood waters. Thus, if you want, you can dump enough dirt to build a mound high enough before building your home. And they encourage you to do so.

Of course that is not much help to anyone with a home already built.

This flood is also early, by about a month. Most of the floods have occured in late April with a few in early April. But not March.

The Red River is plagued with floods as the valley is flat like a table top, both across and along the valley. The river drops about one foot in a mile, so the water does not move that fast in normal circumstances. It also flows 'backwards' - south (warm) to north (cold). Which is why North Dakota and Minnesota (south) are flooding now, ice free, while there are problems with ice jambs around St.Andrews and Selkirk (north).

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[George NU]

Hey you guys up There in the water, Buy your self an old barge and Put your Garage on it and all you cars and Parts ! You Could even power up the thing with some Flatheads ! LOL

This is the only safe way Near a flood prone river ! and even then it has to Have some poles dug down to Hell to Hold it Back !! better to move away from the darn thing ! as the old song says,Take me Higher !!

Me I want to be on Higher ground, I live Next to a river also ,But we don't have Canada feeding it ! Mine last flooded in 96,so any year now if all goes according to Just the right weather it could come thru, But my Place Has never flooded although it was an Island for a while !!! LOL !

Keep your Poweder dry! (And all your Mo-par stuff ! ) Nu