|
|
Kootenai drops below flood stage
|
|
July 11, 2012 |
For the first time in nearly two weeks, the
Kootenai River has dropped below flood stage and
a flood warning that's been in place since June
24 has ended.
But that doesn't mean our troubles are over.
According to the National Weather Service,
Spokane, river elevation at 1 p.m. today was
63.89 feet, .11 feet below flood stage of 64
feet. The river level is predicted to continue
to fall slowly through the coming week, and any
rises are expected to be minor and not push
beyond flood stage,
While this is good news, the level is
sufficiently high that seepage, and subsequent
crop damage, is likely to continue.
The Kootenai River is expected to drop back to
60 feet above sea level by July 18, and until it
does, fields inundated by seepage cannot dry
sufficiently to begin assessing monetary damages
due to crop loss, nor to fully assess the
condition of dikes weakened by high water levels
of long duration.
According to Boundary County Emergency
Management incident commander Bob Graham, this
year's flood, caused by a combination of late
snow melt and record June precipitation, can't
be compared to the last significant flood of
2006, when the river level was well above flood
stage, but for a considerably shorter period of
time.
Monetary damages in 2006 reached nearly
$2-million, and Graham predicts that damages
from this year's flood will exceed that. |
|
|
|
|
