[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3245-S3246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NORTH DAKOTA--THE IMPACT OF BLIZZARD HANNAH ON UTILITIES AND ELECTRIC
CUSTOMERS
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise to give my third report on the
disaster
[[Page S3246]]
that is still developing in North Dakota after the most severe winter
storm in 50 years on top of the most heavy snowfall of any winter in
our history on top of the worst flooding in 150 years. Last night, late
yesterday, we had a serious situation develop because the main dike
protecting Fargo, ND, which is the largest city in my State, sprang a
leak. I talked last night to both the mayor and the head of the Corps
of Engineers for our area, Colonel Wonzik. They told me they intended
to build a second dike inside of the main dike to contain any burst
that might occur.
I am pleased to report this morning that that effort is well underway
and that the leaking has been contained at this point. But all of us
understand that this is an extraordinary situation. These dikes are
expected to stand up for much longer than would usually be the case
because the flood conditions are so unusual. We have now been told that
the crest may last for as long as a week, and that puts enormous
pressure, not only on the dikes that were constructed by the Corps of
Engineers, but on the dikes that were constructed by literally hundreds
of individual homeowners who, in some cases, built walls of sandbags 15
feet high to protect their homes and neighborhoods.
I brought with me today some photographs that show the extent of the
damage that has been done by this extraordinary storm. This first chart
shows power lines. I do not know if people are able to see it, but it
shows about 3 inches of ice that line the power line. Of course, what
has happened is first we had a massive ice storm and then 70-mile-an-
hour winds. The result was the power poles came down. They snapped like
they were toothpicks. It is really extraordinary.
I drove into one town, and coming from the north side there was power
pole after power pole just snapped off. This is a condition that led to
over 80,000 people being without power. Thankfully, most of those
people's power is now restored, although power for some still is not,
and this is from a week ago Saturday. Can you imagine being without
power for that extended period of time when conditions outside were, at
their worst, 40 below wind chill and no heat? We have reports of one
fellow who started burning fence posts in his house to keep warm.
Others who were using propane heaters, putting them in one room and the
family gathering around the propane heater in order to keep warm.
This picture shows a string of power poles, all knocked down by these
extraordinary conditions. Let me just say, if I can, that there has
been an extraordinary response. We want to say thank you to the power
companies that supply North Dakota for flying in extra crews from
around the country to help out. I want to take this moment to
especially thank our neighbors to the north, because the Governor
informed me last Monday that we were faced with a situation in which
Manitoba Hydro wanted to send in crews to help us restore power lines,
but they were being held up at the border by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. We called them and they immediately gave us a
2-week waiver on all of their requirements at the border, and Manitoba
Hydro sent in over 100 people, crews, to help rebuild power lines in
North Dakota--I think just an extraordinary act of neighborliness by
our neighbors to the north in Canada. We deeply appreciate their
action.
This shows the conditions and the power of this storm. You see this
picture shows this power pole just snapped, again, like a toothpick. It
is absolutely shattered by the force of these ice storms followed by
extraordinarily high winds.
This photo shows the difficult conditions that the workers had to
contend with in trying to rebuild these lines. Again, 80,000 people
without power, most of them for 4 or 5 days. Here they are, working in
these very difficult conditions, trying to rebuild lines.
This photo shows, on a farmstead, the kind of heavy equipment that
was needed just to get an opening to get through to where the power
poles were down. We had in parts of our State 24 inches of snow in this
last storm. The people at the University of North Dakota tell me this
was the most powerful winter storm in 50 years, and in North Dakota we
have had some powerful winter storms. This year alone we have had eight
blizzards and six winter storms that put over 100 inches of snow on the
ground before this storm. And this storm, of course, was extraordinary
by anyone's measure.
This picture shows, again, the extraordinarily difficult conditions
the workmen were facing trying to rebuild lines. Jobs that would
normally take 2 or 3 hours were taking 10 to 12 hours in order to
rebuild these facilities and get power back to people so they could
have heat.
Can you imagine being without power? We have all gotten so used to
having electricity that I think we sometimes forget how important and
central it is to our lives. Just heat alone in our part of the country
is absolutely critical. Can you imagine being without any heat in your
home for a week when it is extremely cold outside? And not having
electricity for any of the conveniences of modern life? This is what
these people have been contending with.
I must say, we have seen really heroic actions. I remember being in
one town and the mayor described how one of the underground tunnels
that carried water was blocked. They called in the fire department that
had a man who was a diver. They asked him--remember, this is 40-below
wind chill--they asked him to dive down in 6 or 7 feet of water to open
up that valve so the water could flow. That takes courage. That young
fellow did not hesitate. He went down and unblocked that line that
otherwise would have led to far greater flooding. These kinds of heroic
efforts have been repeated over and over.
We have had Coast Guard crews in North Dakota. Some people must be
wondering, Coast Guard in North Dakota? North Dakota is landlocked. Why
would we be having Coast Guard crews in a State like North Dakota?
Very simply, those Coast Guard crews have background and experience
and training in water rescue. They can tell some harrowing tales of
going out and rescuing people who were in automobiles or were in homes
that were surrounded by water. One of the things members of these
rescue crews said to me is: Senator, we have never worked in a
situation in which we were blocked by ice. We are used to dealing with
water, but we are not used to dealing with ice on top of the water and
having to break through ice in order to get through to people to save
them.
Obviously, not all of the stories have had happy endings. We had a
terrible tragedy of a young woman and her 3-year-old daughter who were
in a car that went off the road. Water filled it. They were able to
escape somehow and then tried to walk to a home that they knew about
that was out in the country, a farmstead. Unfortunately, the rivers in
this part of the State wind in a very unpredictable way and what they
encountered, as they were walking in the bitterly cold weather, soaking
wet, was, once again, the river. That young woman and her child died in
a field south of Fargo, ND.
There are many other stories, tragic stories, and stories of
extraordinary heroism, where people were able to make a difference in
saving lives and saving property.
I will just conclude by saying I hope we move the disaster
supplemental bill with dispatch. I hope we move that legislation in a
way that will provide sufficient funding to be able to manage this
latest crisis.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida is recognized for up
to 30 minutes.
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