Flood of '97 Timeline
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| April 18th, 02:45:00 | Red River at 51.42. |
| April 18th, 04:15:00 | Boils appear in the Lincoln Park dike. City orders evacuation, including 106 residents of Valley Memorial Homes-Almonte Living Center. |
| April 18th, 06:00:00 | City orders evacuation of Riverside and Central Park areas. |
| April 18th, 08:00:00 | Water runs out of north end of Lincoln Park Golf Course and down Lincoln Drive. |
| April 18th, 11:15:00 | “It’s one of the major disasters of our time,“ Grand Forks Mayor Pat Owens tells CNN television. |
| April 18th, 11:35:00 | National Weather Services revises its crest projection to 53 for today or Saturday. |
| April 18th, 12:00:00 | River at 52.19. |
| April 18th, 12:15:00 | First break in East Grand Forks dikes comes near Folson Park. But ring dike temporarily saves area. |
| April 18th, 15:30:00 | Dike just south of Murray Bridge in East Grand Forks breaks, resulting in flooding of entire Point area. |
| April 18th, 16:00:00 | Sirens sound as Point area ordered evacuated, and Murray Bridge closes. |
| April 18th, 16:30:00 | Water in Lincoln Drive area reaches same level as river, leaving about 300 homes in water, many of them to the rooftops. |
| April 18th, 19:14:00 | River reaches 52.62, up 18 inches in 18 hours. |
| April 18th, 20:08:00 | National Weather Services revises crest for 54.0 feet on Saturday. |
| April 18th, 20:20:00 | Central Park area fills rapidly. |
| April 18th, 21:40:00 | Emergency Operations Center at Grand Forks police station moves to UND as storm sewer backup runs down Fifth Street. Within 30 minutes, the police station basement is full of water. |
| April 18th, 22:00:00 | River reaches 52.76; Owens bans sale of alcohol in Grand Forks. |
| April 18th, 23:00:00 | East Grand Forks dike near Kennedy Bridge fails, cutting the last link between the two cities and flooding Sherlock Park homes. |
| April 19th, 00:00:00 | Water flows off dike by Murray Bridge, flooding land inside Griggs Park in East Grand Forks. |
| April 19th, 01:00:00 | Water comes over the dike by Valley Golf Course in East Grand Forks. |
| April 19th, 07:10:00 | Water tops the dike in Riverside Park. |
| April 19th, 07:50:00 | National Guard begins diking East Grand Forks Police Department. |
| April 19th, 08:00:00 | Grand Forks water plant fails. |
| April 19th, 10:00:00 | City orders evacuation of all areas in Grand Forks east of Washington Street. |
| April 19th, 11:00:00 | UND President Kendall Baker calls off classes for the semester, two weeks before final exams are to start. |
| April 19th, 12:00:00 | Approximately 50 percent of Grand Forks and virtually all of East Grand Forks are flooded. |
| April 20th, 05:30:00 | Eleven buildings are either lost or heavily damaged by the fire. |
| April 20th, 07:00:00 | River at 53.7. |
| April 20th, 10:00:00 | Grand Forks water supply exhausted. |
| April 20th, 11:30:00 | Owens announces 24-hour curfew in mandatory evacuation zones. |
| April 20th, 14:00:00 | A helicopter dumps water on the smoldering downtown fire. |
| April 20th, 19:00:00 | United Hospital evacuates the last of its patients. |
| April 20th, 20:00:00 | 75 percent of Grand Forks’ residents are evacuated. |
| April 20th, 21:00:00 | River at 53.99. |
Timeline from Alkofer, Bill, Scott Cohen, Rich. Rumppe, and Eric Hylden. Come Hell and High Water (1998). Page 38. Courtesy of the Grand Forks Herald.