North Dakota and Minnesota The Red River forms the border between
Minnesota and
North Dakota. A few sets of "sister cities" developed along opposite sides of the river.
Grand Forks, North Dakota and its counterpart
East Grand Forks, Minnesota, were the pair most severely affected by the 1997 flood.
Fargo, North Dakota/
Moorhead, Minnesota (
Fargo-Moorhead) and
Wahpeton, North Dakota/
Breckenridge, Minnesota also had severe flooding. Much of the flooding accumulated not only because of the rising river levels, but also from overland flooding, as meltwater did not drain away. Temporary dikes were erected along the riverfront and around the edges of towns, but were sometimes overwhelmed. It was difficult for the cities to prepare for such an enormous flood. The
National Weather Service (NWS) had forecast that the river would crest at 49 feet (14.9 m), which was its highest level during the 1979 flood. The cities had built dikes to this level, but the river continued to rise past it. Taken by surprise, the NWS did not upgrade its forecast until April 16, the day the river reached 49 feet. The dikes in the low-lying Lincoln Drive neighborhood of Grand Forks were the first to break, doing so early on April 18, as the river kept rising. Other dikes in the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks area failed that day and the next, flooding thousands of homes. During this time, Grand Forks mayor
Pat Owens ordered the evacuation of more than 50,000 people, much of the population of the city. This was the largest evacuation in the United States since the evacuation of residents in
Atlanta, Georgia during the
Civil War. Water reached areas more than two miles (3 km) inland from the Red River, requiring evacuation of all of East Grand Forks and 75% of Grand Forks. School was cancelled in both cities for the remainder of the term, as were classes at the
University of North Dakota. All transportation was cut off between the two cities (and for many miles, the two states). East Grand Forks residents were evacuated to nearby
Crookston, namely to the
University of Minnesota Crookston. Residents of Grand Forks were given mandatory evacuation orders on April 18, and retreated to
Grand Forks Air Force Base (residents stayed in airplane hangars, which were supplied with more than 3,000 cots). Many residents also evacuated to motels and homes in outlying communities. The river crested at 54.35 feet (16.6 m) on April 21, and the river level did not fall below 49 feet (14.9 m) until April 26. Because water drained so slowly out of the most low-lying areas, some homeowners could not visit their damaged properties until May. By May 30, the Red River had receded below flood stages everywhere in North Dakota.
Manitoba The province of Manitoba completed the
Red River Floodway in 1968 after six years of construction, built permanent dikes in eight towns south of
Winnipeg, and built clay dikes and diversion dams in the Winnipeg area. Other flood control structures completed later were the
Portage Diversion and the
Shellmouth Dam on the
Assiniboine River. Even with these flood protection measures, in 1997 the province had a flood cresting at . It caused 28,000 people to be evacuated and $500 million
CAD in damage to property and infrastructure. The 1997 flood was a
100-year flood. It came close to overwhelming Winnipeg's existing flood protection system. At the time, the Winnipeg Floodway was designed to protect against a flow of , but the 1997 flow was . To compensate, the province broke operational rules for the Floodway, as defined in legislation, during the night of April 30 / May 1, to prevent waters in Winnipeg from rising above the designed limit of above the "James Avenue datum", but causing additional flooding upriver. Winnipeg Mayor
Susan Thompson, announcing that the design limit had been reached, misinterpreted this as good news that the flooding had peaked. City sand-bagging stopped, and national reporters left the city, but the water continued to rise inside and outside of the city until the peak late on May 3 / early on May 4. The city officials have said that the peak occurred on May 1; scientific reports record a peak on May 3/4. Towns upriver of Winnipeg, forewarned by footage of buildings in Grand Forks burning and covered in meters of water, built ring dikes to protect their homes and properties. The province of Manitoba called in the
Canadian Forces, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the provincial Department of Natural Resources. Many people chose to evacuate, including residents from
Morris, who had only two days notice to evacuate to
Winnipeg. Thousands of volunteers helped to build
sandbag dikes around homes and property. Almost all of the ring dikes around the towns held, except for that at
Ste. Agathe. The town's dike system was prepared for the river approaching from the south, but the river had spread widely and floodwaters swamped the town from the west. When Chrétien let the election go ahead as originally planned, Alcock transformed his campaign office into a volunteer relief centre, spending his time in relief efforts instead of campaigning, and won re-election. ==Aftermath==