SHSND Home > North Dakota History > Unit 7: Pretty Good Times on the Prairie, 1945 > Set 5: Floods & Blizzards > 1997 Flood - Introduction

Unit 7: Set 5: Floods & Blizzards - 1997 Flood - Introduction

Introduction | 1966 Blizzard | Hazel Miner | 1950 Flood | 1997 Flood | Activity

Introduction | FEMA Photographs

During the winter of 1996-1997, eastern North Dakota experienced heavy snowfalls and deep cold. Early in April, the eighth blizzard of the season, nicknamed Hannah by the Grand Forks Herald, struck, paralyzing the state and bringing deep cold once again to the Red River Valley.

On April 18, 1997, the Red, reaching a crest of 54.35 feet, breached the dikes at Grand Forks flooding the city, destroying the water plant, and starting an electrical fire that gutted the downtown business district.

The photographs in this section were taken by workers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

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