Sandbags delivered ahead of expected Fargo flood

Associated Press

FARGO, N.D.

Police escorted convoys of flatbed trucks carrying piles of sandbags into neighborhoods along Fargo’s Red River on Monday as residents began preparing to keep the looming flood waters away from their homes.

The cities of Fargo in eastern North Dakota and neighboring Moorhead, Minn., were in flood-fighting mode after the National Weather Service bumped up its flood crest forecast because of warm weather and rain. The Red River is expected to crest Saturday about 20 feet above the flood stage, meaning the rising waters flowing over the river’s banks could threaten nearby houses, roads and parks.

Last year, about 100 homes in the area were damaged and thousands of people were evacuated after the Red River rose above the flood stage for a record 61 days and crested twice. Officials say they are better prepared this year for flooding thanks to earlier sandbagging efforts and the building of stronger levees across the region.

Miles of clay levees, more than 1 million sandbags and portable wall systems will be used to help protect an area of about 200,000 people in Cass County, N.D., and Clay County, Minn.

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