River Towns Race to Avert Flooding
The Red River was expected to crest at 10 feet above flood stage in communities south of here and workers were piling up sand bags and raising levees to avoid a repeat of the devastating flood of four years ago.
The Bois de Sioux river, which joins the Ottertail to form the Red in Wahpeton, had spilled its banks and swamped properties nearby.
The Red, which forms the North Dakota-Minnesota border, was at 16.97 feet in Wahpeton.
The National Weather Service said the Red would crest late Thursday or Friday at 19 feet to 20 feet in Wahpeton and neighboring Breckenridge, Minn., or about 10 feet above flood stage. City leaders said they had raised their dikes to 22 feet and should stay dry.
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