DISASTER RECOVERY FOLLOWING THE 1997 SPRING FLOODS IN MINNESOTA

摘要

The 1997 spring floods on the Red River of the North (Red River) and the Minnesota River broke most existing flood records in Minnesota. This article will focus on Minnesota's recovery, and it should be noted that there were also significant impacts and recovery efforts in North Dakota and Manitoba.rnWhat happened? There was the "perfect storm" for flood conditions. Autumn precipitation was heavy - 4 to 8 inches of precipitation saturated the soil. Winter snowfall was extraordinarily heavy. Most areas had more than six feet of snow with some areas getting two to three times the average snowfall.Early spring precipitation was heavy. Water in the snow pack and the rainfall amounted to 8 to 10 inches over the entire 45,000-square mile Red River basin. Finally, April temperatures (during snowmelt) were above normal. The combination of these events led to a flood discharge at Grand Forks, North Dakota, of 137,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) - substantially above the 100-year flood discharge of 89,000 cfs. (Note: The 100-year discharge was updated to 108,000 cfs in 2001.)