Flood — Richland, North Dakota

2006-04-01 to 2006-04-09 · near Countywide, Richland, North Dakota

Event narrative

The Red River at Wahpeton/Breckenridge rose above flood stage around 2 AM CST on March 30th and remained above flood stage until around 8 PM CST on April 9th. The river peaked at roughly 15.95 feet around 3 AM CST on April 1st. Unofficially, 15.95 feet would be the sixth highest modern-day river stage recorded. The fifth highest modern-day river stage of 25.10 feet (unofficial) was recorded on the Wild Rice River at Abercrombie on April 2nd. Overland flooding also occurred in addition to the river flooding. At one point, approximately 35 bridges along the Wild Rice River and around 30 roads were closed due to flooding. Near Lidgerwood, overland flooding from a slough threatened a retirement center on the southwest edge of town. The Governor of North Dakota authorized the National Guard to assist in the construction of a 3 foot high temporary dike to hold off floodwaters. National Guard troops were also deployed to the Wahpeton area to assist in constructing/monitoring temporary dikes. The widening Wild Rice River in the Great Bend area surrounded several homes. At Dwight, the city lift station was sandbagged to protect it from the floodwaters. The Red River bridge from Abercrombie to Kent was also closed for a time. After the spring flood of 1997, many communities along the Red River looked at ways to mitigate flood effects. For Wahpeton, a higher permanent levee system was in the process of being constructed, which would protect the city to a level of 19.5 feet. A majority of the dike work had been completed, which helped minimize the effects of the 2006 spring flood. Richland County received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damages caused by spring flooding.In summary, the total public and private flood losses experienced within the Red River of the North basin through late March and April 2006 were likely in excess of $20 million. This includes the following amounts. For Minnesota state and local infrastructure (this total includes the damages listed for each county), $8.5 million. For North Dakota state and local infrastructure (this total includes the damages listed for each county), $8 million. For Federal agencies (USACE, USGS, and USCG), $1.5 million. For the transportation industry costs due to traffic diversions caused by prolonged road and bridge closures, $1.5 million. For personal property losses due to floodwaters surrounding more than 500 individual farmsteads and rural homesteads, $1.0 million.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5502368. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.