Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Red River has surged five feet in one day as volunteers and government teams in North Dakota work to pile the flood walls higher.

The river is threatening to bring record flooding that could spill into hundreds of homes.

The National Weather Service says the water sits just below major flood stage of 30 feet this morning in Fargo, and it's expected to rise even higher. Flood stage is 18 feet.

The mayor of Moorhead, Minn., which is just across the river from Fargo, says forecasters expect it to crest by Thursday at around 41 feet, higher than the 39.6 feet that led to devastating flooding in 1997.

Crews in Fargo have built the emergency dike 42 feet high, but many in the town remain nervous. The city is getting a portable wall system that was used to shield soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And officials say they'll need some 2 million sandbags to fight off the waters.