Grand Forks 1997 Flood Recovery
Renewed, Rebuilt, Reborn
The winter of 1996 began as any other; periodic snow storms with moderate to heavy snow fall and chilling temperatures. By 1997, what was once a typical winter had become a year frozen in memory. The impact of the impending snowstorms and spring flooding was felt across the state of North Dakota.
However, a significant amount of focus was being tuned in to the Red River Valley as city, state, and federal officials, alongside the residents and volunteers from across the nation, experienced a flood that has never been witnessed before known as the 'Flood of the Century.'
Wahpeton, Fargo, Drayton, Pembina – all communities along the Red River that ebbed disaster but were not immune to damage. However, battling a river that defies gravity, nearly all of the city of Grand Forks and its 52,000 citizens succumbed to the power of Mother Nature. The city was evacuated as the river waters, more than 26 feet above flood stage, surged through the cityscape consuming nearly 75 percent of the community’s existence.
When the waters withdrew a reticent image emerged of a community that experienced one of the worst disasters that had ever occurred in North Dakota.
Ten years later, a city… a region… a state…a nation… also emerged, dedicated to rebuild after this unprecedented event; better built, better prepared and better protected.
Learn more about this disaster and the state's amazing recovery
Last Modified: Thursday, 19-Apr-2007 10:16:19 EDT