Spring Break
North Dakota officials plead for volunteers as flood sets in
Dave Kolpack - The Associated Press
Issue date: 3/23/09 Section: News
FARGO, N.D. - Officials in Fargo and Minnesota issued urgent pleas for volunteers to help with sandbagging as a storm on Sunday increased the threat of flood in an area already expected to be swamped by a record river crest.
"We need this help," Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said. "We need to stay calm, we need to stay cool, but we need to get serious and get this done."
The National Weather Service said the Red River was about 3 feet above flood stage Sunday in Fargo and more water was on the way.
The river was expected to crest between 39 feet and 41 feet in the Fargo-Moorhead area by Friday, a day earlier and a foot higher than projected.
City officials originally planned to fill more than 1 million sandbags but now believe they need nearly 1.9 million bags to protect neighborhoods that would be affected by the new projections.
About 400,000 to 500,000 bags must be filled each day to reach the goal by the end of the week, officials said.
The Minnesota National Guard said Sunday that more than 200 soldiers would be heading to the Red River Valley to help with the flood fight.
The North Dakota National Guard said about 250 members were ready.
Even so, Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker asked for help from residents as rain began falling Sunday outside City Hall.
"What we want to do is avoid any kind of chaos," Walaker said. "This is a system where everybody works very hard to provide organization to this process."
Across the river, Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland said he did not think the two cities were ready for a flood that could top the record crest of 39.6 feet in 1997.
Laney said 25 inmates from the Cass County jail would be filling sandbags overnight, and Fargo high school students were being released if they wanted to help.
The North Dakota State football team signed up to fill bags.
"We need this help," Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said. "We need to stay calm, we need to stay cool, but we need to get serious and get this done."
The National Weather Service said the Red River was about 3 feet above flood stage Sunday in Fargo and more water was on the way.
The river was expected to crest between 39 feet and 41 feet in the Fargo-Moorhead area by Friday, a day earlier and a foot higher than projected.
City officials originally planned to fill more than 1 million sandbags but now believe they need nearly 1.9 million bags to protect neighborhoods that would be affected by the new projections.
About 400,000 to 500,000 bags must be filled each day to reach the goal by the end of the week, officials said.
The Minnesota National Guard said Sunday that more than 200 soldiers would be heading to the Red River Valley to help with the flood fight.
The North Dakota National Guard said about 250 members were ready.
Even so, Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker asked for help from residents as rain began falling Sunday outside City Hall.
"What we want to do is avoid any kind of chaos," Walaker said. "This is a system where everybody works very hard to provide organization to this process."
Across the river, Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland said he did not think the two cities were ready for a flood that could top the record crest of 39.6 feet in 1997.
Laney said 25 inmates from the Cass County jail would be filling sandbags overnight, and Fargo high school students were being released if they wanted to help.
The North Dakota State football team signed up to fill bags.
Be the first to comment on this story