Red River commission warns of spring flood possibility
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/01/2017 (2624 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It’s looking like another flood year in the Red River basin — on the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Flood of the Century, the Red River Basin Commission said this week.
There will be overland flooding from the Red River with normal precipitation from now until spring, delegates heard at the commission’s annual meeting in Grand Forks.
Higher than normal precipitation could mean getting out the sandbags again.
“If natural levels of precipitation follow, we’re definitely going to see some level of flood,” said Steve Strang, Manitoba director on the commission.
Soils in Minnesota and North Dakota are at 200 per cent moisture capacity. Plus, Manitoba and U.S. portions of the Red River had the most snow on record in December.
“The ground is saturated to the point it can’t take any more water,” said Strang.
The water won’t just come from the south year either. There is a strong flood threat in the west from the Assiniboine River, too.
The province’s hydrologic forecast last month said October and November rains in the Assiniboine basin has created conditions similar to those leading up to the one-in-300-years flood of 2011. Again, the issue is soil moisture saturation.
It’s rare for the Assiniboine and Red rivers to crest at the same time or close together but that’s always a possibility.
Strang said climate change is producing longer, wetter springs, too. “All that points in one direction. We want to tell our citizens to be prepared,” Strang said.
Things can still change, Strang said, as the current streak of mild temperatures definitely helps melt off some of the snow pack early.
“We’re not saying let’s panic. We’re saying let’s not forget about 1997,” said Strang.
bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca