Red River Inches Higher, Bringing New Flood Fears

The Red River crept up again Monday, edging past the 100-year record set only two days earlier and stirring new jitters for weary residents who thought the flood threat had moved on.

The new crest, fed by bulging tributaries, could keep the river high for days, said city operations manager Dennis Walaker.

The river rose to 37.71 feet Monday--the highest mark this century--but barely higher than Saturday’s crest of 37.61 feet. That’s about 20 feet above flood stage, but below the top of the dikes protecting the state’s largest city and short of the all-time record of 39.1 feet set in 1897.

“What it does is put us in the stress period a lot longer,” said Walaker, who had earlier expected the river to subside this week.

Fargo has remained mostly dry, but areas south and southwest of the city are still flooded.

Water in some areas of the Red River may rise even higher in the next few days. On Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Minneapolis said it had to start releasing more water from a brimming reservoir upstream along the Minnesota-South Dakota line.