Northern Flood Waters Drop; Anxiety Still High

The Red River dropped slightly Sunday from its highest level of the century, but weary flood-fighting volunteers and city officials said it was too early to celebrate.

“It’s not time for champagne and funny hats,” said Dennis Walaker, director of operations at the Public Works Department in Fargo, North Dakota’s most-populous city.

“We’re still holding, but the river is not going down as quickly as we were hoping. We did get a little runoff yesterday [from melting snow] and it’s going down very, very slowly,” he said.

“There’s still a lot of concern out there. Temperatures will be in the 40s today and whatever water is out there will start heading for streams,” he said.

Walaker reported 8 inches of water running across Interstate 29, which is closed north of Fargo. The road is a major artery linking the upper Midwest to Canada’s prairie provinces.

Water also covered parts of other state highways in the region.

In rural Cass County, north of Fargo, the Coast Guard had a helicopter and a Hovercraft on standby for possible evacuations, and the sheriff’s office told residents who found themselves cut off and in need of help in evacuating to put a brightly colored sheet or blanket on their property.

Officials in Perley, Minn., northeast of Fargo, urged residents to voluntarily evacuate, and evacuations were also being advised in surrounding rural areas.

National Guard troops, volunteers and city workers were continuing to patrol Fargo’s permanent and makeshift levees around the clock. Walaker predicted it would be another five to seven days before the level of vigilance can be relaxed.