Officials: Don’t celebrate victory over floods just yet

Associated Press

FARGO, N.D.

A city used to fighting floods was confident Saturday that it had done enough to hold back the swelling Red River — even as the water inched higher — but officials stressed that it was too early to celebrate.

Homeowners checking on piles of sandbags in their yards and National Guard soldiers inspecting clay dikes said they didn’t see any immediate problems. City officials, who weathered record flooding last year that forced thousands of residents to evacuate, even passed out cigars that they said they would light — but not until after today’s expected crest.

City crews were turning their attention Saturday to cleaning up debris — plastic, plywood, unused sandbags — from neighborhoods where dikes were built.

Thousands of volunteers spent the past week filling and placing more than 1 million sandbags to fight back the Red River, and officials and residents said they felt better prepared for this year’s floods.

On Saturday they got some more good news: The National Weather Service lowered its crest prediction for today by another half-foot to 19 feet above the flood stage.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.