BISMARCK, N.D. — A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was out placing 1-ton sandbags near White Earth, North Dakota, east of Tioga as part of flood mitigation efforts on Wednesday, April 12.
Rising flood concerns near the local community prompted the Mountrail County emergency manager to enlist the assistance of the North Dakota National Guard, according to a press release from the Guard.
The Guard in response diverted a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter to help block an interior drainage culvert to prevent further inundation of the town.
The helicopter had been scheduled to complete sandbag placing training at Kimball Bottoms south of Bismarck, the Guard said.
“Expanding our training to two sites is a win-win scenario,” said Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general. “In addition to assisting one of our communities, simultaneous missions provides excellent training for our operations personnel commanding and controlling aircraft in multiple locations. We will also gain experience working with community members who fill and stage these large sandbags.”
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Such measures were last used during an emergency response on May 3, 2022, according to the Guard, when used to stabilize the Bourbanis Dam in Pembina County.
Large sandbags were also utilized during the Minot flood of 2011 and as part of the Guard’s 2009 flood response.
Residents in areas prone to flooding should connect with their neighbors and check in with their local emergency manager to discuss their flood risk and planning needs, according to the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.
Across North Dakota, residents are already experiencing overland flooding, according to the Guard, which advises travelers to be cautious and to never walk or drive into flood water.
“It is impossible to know how deep the water is just by looking at it. Don’t underestimate the power of water. It only takes 6 inches of fast-moving water to knock over and carry away an adult, and 12 inches to carry away a small car,” the Guard said.
Readers can visit travel.dot.nd.gov to keep up-to-date on road closures in flood-affected areas.
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