Flood watch for Manitoba as North Dakota predicts surge in water levels

The city of Grand Forks, N.D., has issued an emergency declaration in preparation for a flood that is predicted to be the second-highest on record.

Early predictions by the city's flood forecasters suggest the Red River will crest as high as 15 metres, a level about two metres lower than the flood that devastated the city and much of southern Manitoba in 1997.

'We invested $409 million in a permanent flood prevention program to help protect this community so we're fairly confident that … will be able to accommodate the water that will come through.' —Kevin Dean

The Red River flows north from the United States into Manitoba before emptying into Lake Winnipeg.

Despite the forecast, which comes on the heels of a storm this week that dumped 13 centimetres of snow on the city, North Dakota officials are asking residents not to panic.

Grand Forks public information officer Kevin Dean said new flood prevention measures should easily handle projected levels.

"We invested $409 million in a permanent flood prevention program to help protect this community so we're fairly confident that … will be able to accommodate the water that will come through," he said.

Dean said the decision to declare an emergency is simply an insurance policy. An emergency declaration must first be granted for the municipality to access resources on the state or federal level, he said.

"So it is a procedural part of the plan that we need in order to take any additional steps, if they become necessary."

How the predicted levels for spring 2009 are expected to affect Manitoba is not yet known.

Provincial flood forecasters are factoring that data into their projections and will have an updated local flood forecast next week.