1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection, 1997-

1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection

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Collection Overview

Title: 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection, 1997-

ID: OGLMC1351

Extent: 39.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 00/00/1997

Subjects: Grand Forks - Floods, Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Floods, Red River Valley Flood of 1997, University of North Dakota - 1997 Red River Valley Flood

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection has been divided into ten series as follows:

Series 1: Personal Accounts

Series 2: Media Coverage

Series 3: Publications

Series 4: Governmental Organizations

Series 5: Photographs

Series 6: Audio-Visuals

Series 7: University of North Dakota

Series 8: Grand Forks Greenway

Series 9: Artifacts

Series 10: Miscellaneous

Collection Historical Note

The winter of 1996-1997 was unusually harsh as eight blizzards struck the Grand Forks region of the Red River Valley. The last and one of the most severe, Blizzard Hannah, occurred April 4-6, 1997. When the snow began to melt and the Red River began to rise, the people of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks began flood preparations in earnest. However, the cities' preparations did not anticipate the extent of the flooding. Flood preparations were made to protect the cities from a 49-foot flood crest; the actual flood crested at 54.33 feet on Tuesday, April 22. On April 18, the Red River began to overrun temporary dikes along the river. Those areas in immediate danger were evacuated. As the river continued to rise without any hint of slowing, the entire cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were evacuated on April 19. On that same day, a fire broke out in downtown Grand Forks that destroyed 11 buildings, including one entire block. During the evacuation, University of North Dakota and city of Grand Forks employees remained behind to continue to protect what they could from the still rising river crest and to perform those various administrative and governmental functions that needed to be done. On Thursday, April 24, government officials began to allow people back into the driest areas of town to visit their homes and begin the cleanup process. While the majority of the cleanup itself was finished by the end of the 1997 summer, reconstruction of destroyed basements, houses, and buildings has continued into 2000. In addition to these reconstruction efforts, the cities of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks have been developing flood abatement strategies, most notably a 54-foot dike system in Grand Forks and a Greenway along the Red River itself.

Subject/Index Terms

Grand Forks - Floods
Grand Forks County, North Dakota - Floods
Red River Valley Flood of 1997
University of North Dakota - 1997 Red River Valley Flood

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: The collection has received numerous donations from a variety of individual donors.

Related Publications: Please search the library catalog for a complete list

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). 1997 Red River Valley Flood Collection. OGLMC 1351, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in February 2016.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Accounts],
[Series 2: Media Coverage],
[Series 3: Publications],
[Series 4: Governmental Organizations],
[Series 5: Photographs],
[Series 6: Audio-Visuals],
[Series 7: University of North Dakota],
[Series 8: Greater Grand Forks Greenway],
[Series 9: Artifacts],
[Series 10: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series 6: Audio-Visuals

The sixth series contains various materials, including CDs, audio-cassette tapes, and maps.

Box 8

Folder 30: Earthworks Aerial Maps; Computer Disks–Demo Disks of Aerial Images of 1997 Red River Valley Flood
Folder 31: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Towns Along the Red and Grand Forks: April 21st 1997
Folder 32: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Towns Along the Red and Grand Forks: April 21st 1997
Folder 33: Earthworks Aerial Maps (See Also CDROMs of the Same); April-May 1997
Folder 34: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Kittson County North, Kittson County South; 1997
Folder 35: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Pembina County North, Pembina County South; 1997
Folder 36: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Walsh County North, Walsh County South; 1997
Folder 37: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Walsh County West; 1997
Folder 38: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Marshall County North, Marshall County South; 1997
Folder 39: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Grand Forks County North, Grand Forks County South; 1997
Folder 40: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Polk County North, Polk County South; 1997
Folder 41: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Traill and Norman Counties North, Traill and Norman Counties South; 1997
Folder 42: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Cass and Clay Counties North, Cass and Clay Counties South; 1997
Folder 43: Earthworks Aerial Maps; CDROMs–Richland and Wilkin Counties North, Richland and Wilkins Counties South; 1997
Folder 44: Binder with Earthworks Aerial Maps of Counties from CDROMs; 1997
Folder 45: CDROMs; Transmap On-Sight Demo, Flood of 1997 Photographs; 1997
Folder 46: CDs: Keep the Faith, The Official Radio Chronicle of the Flood of '97; 1997
Folder 47: CDs: Fury of the Red River, Ballad of the Waters; 1997
Folder 48: Tapes: KNOX Flood Rebroadcast; April 1998
Folder 49: JAG Flood Video Collection (Sp. Coll. #V919); 1997
Folder 50: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; A1-A4 (with Map); April 21, 1997
Folder 51: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; A5-A7 (with Map); April 21, 1997
Folder 52: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; B1-B4 (with Map); April 21, 1997
Folder 53: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; B5-B7 (with Map); April 21, 1997
Folder 54: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; C1-C4 (with Map); April 21, 1997
Folder 55: Aerial Views of Grand Forks Area; C5-C8 (with Map); April 21, 1997

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids