Flood Cam 2009

I don’t live in this city, but I do live near it.  I am not closely affected by the flood other than road closures and having friends in the city.  I was just downtown near this very flood wall that you see protecting the city.  I had a dentist appointment.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/pages/floodcam

In 1997, this city was severely flooded when the Red River of the North (which flows north, btw) rose to 54’.  The new dike system holds to 60’.  The current expected crest is around 52-3’, but rivers can be very unpredictable, especially with the ice jams and new snow/rain.  No idea yet, what the second crest will come in at in April.  Fargo, ND is suffering much worse as their dike system is not as good/high as Grand Forks.  One of the joys of losing half your city to a flood is you get a brand new dike system.  I guess Fargo is next in line.

Bismark is also suffering huge flooding thanks to the Missouri River and ice jams both north and south of Bismark.

Manitoba, Canada is bracing for 3 weeks of flood “agony.”

Man, I love spring…………NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ETA:
In Firefox, I can acess the above link with no problem.  Flock is being goofy.  If for some reason, you can't get the video to run to go
http://www.grandforksherald.com/ and scroll down a little bit to find 2009 Flood Cam (left side, big blue letters)

I hate Spring!!

I know many people love it, but not me. My normal reason is because of the way the wet weather makes me feel. Wet weather is AWFUL for my arthritis and fibro. I have another reason which this season stands out worse than others.

• mud
• water puddles
• dog doo doo
  
• white carpet
• dogs
• towels
• laundry

Care to guess why I don't like this time of year? I have to wipe the dogs feet to avoid getting all sorts of unpleasant things on the white carpet, which was put in by the previous residents who obviously did NOT have dogs. I wish I could teach my dogs how to wipe their own feet :) They aren't that smart.

Oh, I have similar feelings about Fall as well. I don't like wet weather EVER.

The rivers are thawing and rising. No serious flooding in the area close to me yet, but it won't be long before the fields are under water again. I was noticing some pretty big junks of ice on the Red River as we crossed today. Since the silly thing runs north, we may be in for some flooding, but I'm hopeful that our lack of snow will help us avoid it. Looks like my hopefulness is going to win out. Just found an article from an area paper that agrees with me. Yippie!!!! Unfortunately, some people are dealing with flash floods due to ice jams.

It's been 10 years this spring since the last major flood in this area. That was one awful Spring. I remember the devestation that cause. Looks like Uncle Sam has finally come through with the final funding to finish the dike. The thing is 97% complete. With this funding, it will be finished by Sept.

Well time to close with a quote or two :)

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
~~~Abraham Lincoln

True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.
~~~Albert Einstein

Ethics, too, are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, promoting, and enhancing life, and that destroying, injuring, and limiting life are evil.
~~~Albert Schweitzer: Civilization and Ethics, 1949