Saturday, March 28, 2009 7:30am River Level = 48.23ft 10:30am River Level = decreasing slightly--no current reading Voluntary evacuations were called for in Fargo-Moorhead for about 30,000 people. The cities want residents who need more time to evacuate now. Everyone else should be ready for immediate action if necessary. Most of the sandbag walls are built up to 43ft. in the area, but this flood will be a test for all of the flood control measures as record crests are expected to hold for days. There are many sad stories coming from around North Dakota and Minnesota, but losses have been held to a minimum. This will be of little comfort to those losing homes. Other than massive traffic on the one remaining bridge--The Kennedy Bridge of US2--and surrounding area, things are still calm in Grand Forks. One southern neighborhood is still sandbagging. The dikes are off limits under penalty of civil disobedience ($150). This and closures of the Sorlie and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Bridge have left Downtown Grand Forks eerily quiet during the day. Nightlife is still going strong downtown. These slide shows are probably now the best way to check out flooding progress.     4:30pm River Level = 48.23ft. Yup. It went down a little, but it's back on the rise. The crest prediction fell to 51ft. Sunday, March 29, 2009 The cold weather has slowed if not stopped the rise of the river. It is still projected to crest around 51ft., but not until Thursday. I'll post more pictures as waters begin to rise. Between 9am and 1pm the river rose about 0.5ft. It was level for hours before and after. I'm investigating to see why. Monday, March 30, 2009 1pm River Level = 49ft. It's warmer today, and the river is rising, but more slowly. It's harder to detect the rising water now. Grand Forks is still in good shape, but major ice dams downstream are keeping the National Guard busy. Fargo-Moorhead is still holding its breath monitoring flood protection measures. I hear helicopters patroling the river also.  |