The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District is working around the clock in a race against the weather. Corps engineers are helping Minnesota and North Dakota communities in the Red River of the North river basin as they prepare for predicted flood elevations not seen since 1997.
National Weather Service forecasters predict flooding will begin next week and that the Red River of the North in Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D., will ultimately reach major flood stage and have a strong likelihood of a crest measuring among the top five highest on record. Away from rivers, widespread overland flooding is expected due to the flat terrain and frozen drainage networks in the Red River Basin.
What's more, storm system have entered the basin and heavy rains are expected for the next few days, potentially adding 1-2 inches of additional precipitation to the existing snowpack already in the basin.
At the request of the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota, the Corps has been providing advanced measures to mitigate damage from the oncoming floods. These measures include providing technical engineering assistance, building emergency levees, raising existing levees, issuing sandbags and polyurethane and lending pumps.
As of March 22, the Corps has hired contractors to build emergency levees in the cities of Valley City, Wahpeton, Fargo, Harwood, Argusville and Grafton in North Dakota, and Breckenridge, Moorhead and Georgetown, Minn.
Sunday, Corps contractors finished building protection for lift stations in Dwight, Great Bend, and Christine, N.D., as well as road raises to protect the cities of Great Bend and Lidgerwood, N.D.
The district has issued more than 2.3 million sand bags and 310 rolls of polyurethane, and loaned more than 10 pumps to counties and cities in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Under Public Law 84-99, the Corps of Engineers may provide assistance to communities to save human life, prevent immediate human suffering or mitigate public property damage. An imminent threat of unusual flooding must exist and a state must request Corps assistance. Both North Dakota and Minnesota have done so.
Related Links:
Headquarters U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
VIDEO: Army serves N.D. flood victims
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