Flood in North Dakota, April 18 to 23, 1997

The Red River reached a new record level in Grand Forks, just over 54 feet, on April 21st/22nd, shattering the previous record by over 5 feet. Problems with the river gauge led to difficulties in obtaining stages. One flow measurement, taken close to the crest, indicated 145,000 cfs in the Red River. The city dikes failed on the 18th and 19th, forcing the 50,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Roughly 70 percent of the city of Grand Forks was flooded, with some homes completely submerged. Fire struck downtown Grand Forks on the 19th, burning 11 buildings to the ground. Firefighters could not reach the downtown area, due to the height of the river, so forest firefighters were called in with helicopters. All of the bridges across the river to East Grand Forks were under water, making Fargo the only crossing point from Fargo to Canada. As the river remained high for several weeks, the University of North Dakota and all other schools in Grand Forks cancelled the rest of the school year. The city had no drinking water for 3 weeks, as the water treatment plant was flooded.