That middle little bump is where my brother’s house is located. The dike is being built on Riverwood Drive; they are obviously on the wrong side. The huge snowfall and now melt in MT and the rain there this past weekend has pushed up the release levels and shortened the time period in which to prepare.
On the updated flood map, his home’s location is best seen on the second map. Just look for the five little bumps under a sea of blue.
The water was at 15.5 feet when Eric sent this picture. It’s forecasted to reach 19 feet, but that number is old and WILL go higher. The top of the post in 20 feet.
The house is protected to 22 feet. But, access will be a problem. How does one keep a gasoline-generator-run sump pump going if you can only access the property once each week (that’s the talk)?? How much do you move up or out? How much do you try to salvage? Do you try to stay in your house? Lots of hard decisions.
Some have just packed up and left; with heavy hearts, I’m sure. My brother and parents have chosen to do as much as humanly possible. Thank goodness family live close enough to help out.
The sheer volume of water officials/the corp are predicting is truly amazing. We toss around these big numbers … 85,000 cfs (that’s cubic feet per SECOND – I can’t even fathom how much water that means) … 95,000 cfs … 120,000 cfs. That last number is what a friend of ours believes everyone should be planning to withstand.
An interesting tidbit Eric learned today … if the water in Lake Sakakawea starts flowing over the dam on its own, it would flow at 600,000 cfs. Try to imagine THAT amount of water.
I’m physically here at the farm, but my heart and mind are in Bismarck.
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