Historic flooding possible on the Moyie
|
| April 6, 2011 |
During the May meeting of the Local Emergency
Planning Committee, Emergency Management
Director Dave Kramer told those in attendance of
the risk of major flooding on the Moyie River,
particularly in Eastport, as spring warms up,
and Jay Baker, Idaho Bureau of Homeland
Security, said the risk was extremely high
region wide.
According to Katherine Rowden of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is
a 90-percent probability that the Moyie River
will exceed flood stage this spring, based on
peak flow forecasts for Eastport.
"The more interesting news," she wrote, "is that
the model suggests a 50-percent chance that
flows will exceed 11,600 cubic feet per second,
which is greater than the flood of record."
That record was set in 1916, when the flow was
10,600 cubic feet per second. Flood stage
assessment data tops out at 11,000 cubic feet
per second, so there's no accurate way to
predict what conditions on the river will be if
that flow is exceeded.
"The River Forecast Center is working on
extending the curve mathematically," she wrote,
"which may not accurately reflect real world
conditions, but will help give some guidance."
The highest flow at Eastport in the last 30
years came in 2002, when the Moyie rose to
10.46-feet with a flow of 9,310 cubic feet per
second. Flood stage on the Moyie River at
Eastport is nine feet.
Currently, Rowden said, work is being done for
potential floods on the Kootenai River at
Bonners Ferry as well, particularly if the Yaak,
Fisher and Moyie Rivers all flood
simultaneously.
Kramer said the county has been preparing for
the worst, stocking an extra supply of sandbags,
which are available at the landfill. Last month,
county commissioners sent a letter to Eastport
property owners in the areas expected to be
hardest hit, reminding them that the
responsibility for protecting private property
falls on the property owner, and encouraging
absentee landowners to make arrangements to have
someone, either a neighbor or a contractor, look
after their property. |
|
Questions or comments?
Click here
to email!
|
|
|
