red river 2009 flood watch ND/MB - Page 4

freeweed · #61 Posted **Mar 28, 2009, 6:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueviking

i really dont get what fargo has been doing for the last 10 years....did they do nothing to improve their flood defence?.....it seems they are in the same panic they were in in '97...how can this have taken them by surprise?

Fargo came through 1997 just fine, with minor flooding. Grand Forks took the brunt of the damage and that's where all the money got spent afterwards. This year's flood is far higher in Fargo than 1997 was, period.

As for why they didn't do anything since then? Hell, Winnipeg was an inch of rain or 20km/h of winds away from losing half the city in 1997, AND PEOPLE STILL ARGUED AGAINST THE FLOODWAY EXPANSION. The "it only happens every 100 years" argument was used by stupid people in Winnipeg, and also in Fargo - so Fargonians didn't think anything major was needed.

People are dumb creatures, what can I say. Thank dog sanity won out in Winnipeg, because all it will take is a couple of bad days of weather over the next 2-3 weeks, and 1997 will look like a cake-walk.

Keng · #62 Posted **Mar 28, 2009, 7:56 PM**

The Amphibex or Amphibi, near Selkirk, last Sunday the 22nd. Amazing machines not exactly sports cars, but they seem to do what no other machines could do, short of dynamite.

This one broke down, hopefully the older one.

Andy6 · #63 Posted **Mar 28, 2009, 8:22 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

Fargo came through 1997 just fine, with minor flooding. Grand Forks took the brunt of the damage and that's where all the money got spent afterwards. This year's flood is far higher in Fargo than 1997 was, period.

As for why they didn't do anything since then? Hell, Winnipeg was an inch of rain or 20km/h of winds away from losing half the city in 1997, AND PEOPLE STILL ARGUED AGAINST THE FLOODWAY EXPANSION. The "it only happens every 100 years" argument was used by stupid people in Winnipeg, and also in Fargo - so Fargonians didn't think anything major was needed.

People are dumb creatures, what can I say. Thank dog sanity won out in Winnipeg, because all it will take is a couple of bad days of weather over the next 2-3 weeks, and 1997 will look like a cake-walk.

It's not necessarily that "dumb"...avoiding a flood isn't necessarily worth it at any price. How much would it have been worth for Winnipeg to have avoided the 1950 flood? What if it had cost billions, in today's dollars, and hundreds of other worthy public expenditures had had to be cancelled to pay for it, with taxes raised to damaging levels? Under these conditions, would the city have been better off five years after the non-flood of 1950 than it was after what in real life turned out to be the flood of 1950? It's not a simple question.

freeweed · #64 Posted **Mar 29, 2009, 2:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy6

It's not necessarily that "dumb"...avoiding a flood isn't necessarily worth it at any price. How much would it have been worth for Winnipeg to have avoided the 1950 flood? What if it had cost billions, in today's dollars, and hundreds of other worthy public expenditures had had to be cancelled to pay for it, with taxes raised to damaging levels? Under these conditions, would the city have been better off five years after the non-flood of 1950 than it was after what in real life turned out to be the flood of 1950? It's not a simple question.

It's dumb when you know the figures. Billions of dollars in damages vs hundreds of millions in preparation. You talk like people didn't know the potential damage, nor how much mitigation would cost.

Of course it's not worth it at ANY price - but when the cost can be quantified (and it easily can), and the price to avoid it can also be calculated (it also easily can)... it doesn't take a genius to know that paying for insurance is a good idea.

1ajs · #65 Posted **Apr 6, 2009, 3:50 AM**

one of the 2 bad boys was droped off at the old labat brewery site this afternoon by the redwood bridge

1ajs · #66 Posted **Apr 8, 2009, 4:57 AM**

funny found one of my markers from 97 today

rrskylar · #67 Posted **Apr 8, 2009, 3:59 PM**

^ a piece of gum on a tree?

1ajs · #68 Posted **Apr 8, 2009, 5:21 PM**

no its a nail with a plastic cable strap

1ajs · #69 Posted **Apr 8, 2009, 8:03 PM**

floodway gates are now operational

1ajs · #70 Posted **Apr 8, 2009, 11:05 PM**

Floodway open but Winnipeg not out of danger: flood officials

About 150 flood-affected city property owners might have to evacuate

Last Updated: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 | 5:22 PM CT Comments0 Recommend8

CBC News

Crews are working to break up any ice that flows into the floodway channel. (Bert Savard/CBC)The Red River Floodway is open but that doesn't mean Winnipeg is clear of flooding danger, city officials say.
About 150 flood-affected city property owners along Christie Road, Forbes Road, Kingston Row and Kingston Crescent will be served notice Wednesday evening.
Emergency preparedness co-ordinator Randy Hull said the chance of homes being evacuated remains low, but should it happen, they will have only a matter of hours to leave.
In a news release Wednesday afternoon, the City of Winnipeg urged property owners near the river to "remain vigilant as the potential for a rapid rise in river levels due to serious ice jams continues."
If river levels rise suddenly due to an ice jam, there is the potential that a temporary evacuation of specific areas may be required, the release stated.
Some of the ice jams that have plagued the city for the past couple of weeks began moving on Tuesday, between Bishop Grandin Boulevard and the Elm Park Bridge in south Winnipeg.
In other areas, the ice remains intact and will likely begin moving over the next few days, the city expects. Ice has begun moving into the floodway channel, where city crews are working to break it up as much as possible.
It is expected that ice will pass through the floodway and exit at the north end, then collide with the solid ice cover north of the city.
Water levels between the south Perimeter Bridge and the floodway entrance gates have already risen significantly since the floodway was activated, the release states.
When the floodway gates south of the city block the river flow through Winnipeg, they force the water to back up so it clears the elevated edge of the floodway channel and flows into the diversion.
Dike elevations at the south end of the city were set four feet above the forecast water level to account for that potential rise, as well as any increase from ice jams, the city said.
If any evacuations are necessary, they will be conducted through City of Winnipeg emergency services personnel. More information can be found on the city's EmergWeb ( www.winnipeg.ca/emergweb), by phoning 311, or by emailing [email protected].