Flood in 2009? (Fargo: live, stores, relocate to)

[Draconiator]

Hey y'all! BE SAFE YOU GUYS. We had to live through a flood up here last year in Northern Maine (it was all over the news apparently; it never got my area of town), but I have seen the devastation firsthand...and I sympathize with you all. I hope you guys are safe, and you've got prayers coming from Aroostook County, Maine.

[D-Towner]

I would like to say that I'm praying for the well being of the residents of the Fargo-Moorhead area.

[DOUBLE H]

Myself as well. I've met a lot of good Dakota folks in my day, it pains me to see this.

[debey]

More than 320 South Dakota Army National Guard members are helping fight flood waters in Fargo..
News, Weather and Sports for Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa

thoughts & prayers, continue, for those living in the flood areas.

[ArizonaBear]

Us here in Arizona are thinking of you folks as well-------------stay safe, please.

[Chinese girl]

I will pray for all of you there in China !!! Hope things will be ok !

and I will give my highest respects to thoes great Army National Guard members -- You are my heros !!!

[satx56]

My thoughts and prayers for all those in the Red River Valley & ND floods!! My respects to the more than 320 South Dakota Army National Guard members that are helping fight flood waters in Fargo. Stay safe and vigilant.

[CoastalMaine]

Thoughts and prayers for all of you in harms way.... I echo all the other sentiments..... you are not forgotten!

[3-Oaks]

Originally Posted by NCN

You cannot watch this on TV and not care for those who are working so hard and working together. Your part of the country looks good even though you are having a flood. I have seen a lot of wonderful people with exceptional attitudes that you can be proud of. I wish you all the best and will keep you in my prayers.

That's why so many of us love it here...even with the nasty winters. IT'S THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

[3-Oaks]

Originally Posted by FVWinters

I have watched the deteriorating situation in the Upper Red River Basin from my home in the Pacific northwest since the 21st. The heroic effort of the residents and those from far away is a forceful reminder of what people can do when they face impossible odds.
The world is watching and taking note of your bravery....
Some posters here have asked why build and then rebuild in a known flood zone. They wonder at the lack of sense of those who continue doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I don't live in North Dakota but have been in and through it many times. The Red River valley is as flat and featureless as any valley ever was. From Wahpeton clear to the border, a distance of some 240 miles counting all the kinks in the river, it drops a whopping 160 feet. That's like 8 inches per mile. Any rise in the water and it's going to spread out. It's all flood plain. But the silver lining in all that is some of the richest soils anywhere on earth are found within spitting distance of Fargo and Grand Forks. You like sugar in your oatmeal? it probably came from right around here. Your whole wheat bread? That too, grown within a hour's drive from Fargo. People live here because that's where the agriculture is; and it's as good as it is because of the periodic Red River Flooding that is so disruptive to people's lives whenever it occurs.

Personally, I think you folks are awesome; keep up the good work and I hope you will accept my thoughts and prayers. FV

Actually from its source in LakeTraverse to its end at Lake Winnipeg it's 550 miles as the crow flies and nearly double that if you follow all the twists & turns. At the south end the valley is about 40 miles wide and the relief or drop in elevation is about 5" per mile. The valley widens up to 160 miles in some areas. Up north near the border the relief is only 1 1/2" per mile.

As a reporter from New Jersey described it during the 1997 flood, "Dump a big glass of water on a pool table and see what part doesn't get wet!" That's about the best description I've heard of the flatness of the valley.

It is one of the few places I know where, if you get a few miles out of town, you can stand and see all the way to the horizon in all directions with nothing but maybe a couple trees in the way.


This year it was like "The Perfect Storm" to cause severe flooding. We had recordbreaking rain last fall. There's counties where 1/3 or more of the crops didn't get harvested because of water standing in the fields. That meant the soils were already more than waterlogged going into winter.

Normally we hope for a good bit of the snowmelt to be absorbed into the ground rather than running into the rivers. That couldn't happen this year, the fields already ahd excess water to dump into the rivers. Then we had one of the top 10 winters for the amount of snow...just what we needed on top of already oversaturated soils. Now in March, we got double the normal precipitation, most in the form of rain, which tries to runn off immediately. All in all, we knew it was going to be bad, but never dreamed of this bad. Plus add an exceptionally early and fast start to the melt. This way below freezing temps of the past few days has been a Godsend as far as slowing things way down, and just might be what saves Fargo.