MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Grand Forks police official Byron Sieber about flooding in the town and a mandatory evacuation order.
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 Minnesota, North Dakota, and southern Manitoba. The flood was the result of abundant snowfall and extreme temperatures. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826. Water spread throughout the Red River Valley and affected the cities of Fargo and Winnipeg…but the greatest impact was in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, where floodwaters reached more than 3 miles inland. Damages in the Red River region totaled $3.5 billion. As a result of the 1997 flood and its extensive property losses, the United States and state governments made additional improvements to the flood protection system in North Dakota and Minnesota, creating dike systems.
Transcripts
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BOB POTTER: Authorities in Grand Forks sounded warning sirens at around 5 o'clock this morning to wake and evacuate residents in several areas along the Red River.
The army corps of engineers worked through the night to save a dike that developed four cracks. Lieutenant Byron Sieber is with the Grand Forks Police Department and serving as public information officer. Good morning, lieutenant.
BYRON SIEBER: Good morning, Bob.
BOB POTTER: What's the situation with the dikes right now?
BYRON SIEBER: Well, as you just stated, we did set off the sirens this morning. Besides those four cracks that they noticed yesterday and worked very hard on, they noticed additional cracks today. They felt it necessary then to pull those volunteers out of working in that area.
That then precipitated asking for a mandatory evacuation of the general population, still in what we call the Lincoln Drive area.
BOB POTTER: How many people is that?
BYRON SIEBER: Well, just under 300 homes. And once we activated that, we expanded it to what we call the Riverside Park area and Central Park areas. These are the lowest areas in Grand Forks. Most people who have been up here know its elevation is pretty level up here. But these are three areas adjacent to the river that are extremely low.
If we're going to err here, we're going to err on the side of safety and get these people out on a mandatory notice. We have them heading out to shelters now, and we're closing those areas off. We've got utility companies going in shutting off all the electrical and gas lines.
BOB POTTER: What time did you issue that mandatory evacuation order?
BYRON SIEBER: Shortly after the first one, about a half an hour to 45 minutes. And then this morning, as of 6:47, we have put out another release for the entire city of Grand Forks, which is subject to overland flooding now and inundation of their storm sewers. And that could result in flooding such as their basements or low-lying areas. If people living in basements or in garden levels, we're putting that notice out.
Now, it's going out over all the local media here. And we're in for what was a first considered a flood of the century. And we're possibly going to go beyond that now.
BOB POTTER: And do you have any reason to believe it's going to get any better in the next day or so?
BYRON SIEBER: Well, from what we've seen, the National Weather Service keeps updating our flood crest predictions. So we keep expecting and expecting. We've mobilized everybody here.
BOB POTTER: How long until this mandatory evacuation is complete, do you suppose?
BYRON SIEBER: Well, we're in some daylight now, so we can get the corps to have a little better inspection of what's going on. I would guess, from my point of view, it's going to be sometime. They talked about a broad crest, which means this river is going to stay up for a long time, and it's going to have to recede significantly before we trust those dikes again to let them in.
BOB POTTER: Lieutenant Byron Sieber in Grand Forks, thanks very much.
BYRON SIEBER: Thank you.