
By Duane Sweep, Synod ofLakes and Prairies
According to a report Saturday morning, March 28, in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, a newspaper in Fargo, N.D., t he National Weather Service gave the residents of Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., “a dose of good news, … saying the flood outlook for the Red River seems to be improving and may not be as dire as originally expected.” The article went on to note, “Despite the forecast revision, North Dakota officials still intensified their efforts to fend off the floodwaters, deploying high-tech Predator drone aircraft, calling up more National Guard troops and asking residents to be on the lookout for any breaches in levees.”
The Red River, which divides Fargo and Moorhead, may have crested around midnight at 40.82 feet, according to the National Weather Service. As of 8 a.m. it had dropped to 40.69 feet. The Forum article noted, “But the river can still fluctuate up to a foot, given that ice floes affect the flow of the river and could lead to periodic rises.”
Much of Fargo-Moorhead has been evacuated. Volunteers have worked throughout the week to raise the levels of the dikes in both cities. Jim and Katrine Anderson, Duluth, National Response Team members of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, are in Moorhead. PDA has also indicated that it will provide an initial grant of $10,000 to the Presbytery of Northern Plains to meet disaster needs.
While volunteers from outside the Red River Valley are not currently sought, volunteers will be needed in the days and weeks ahead to work in areas that have been flooded and to remove the debris from this week’s work to meet the rising water. The Rev. Nancy Emerson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Moorhead, said during the week, “Every sand bag that has gone down will have to be picked up.” The Presbytery of Northern Plains is developing strategies to meet flooding that has caused damage across its territory.
The Red River is expected to crest in Grand Forks, N.D., home of the presbytery’s office, at 52 feet, two feet below its level during the major flood of 1997, and under the level of existing dikes.
PDA is accepting donations online at www.pcusa.org/pda. Up-to-date information about the flood can be found at the Web sites of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead at www.inforum.com and the Grand Forks Herald at www.grandforksherald.com.
Photo: In the photo above, volunteers stand on the East Dike in Fargo, helping to build a levee on the banks of the Red River. Photo by Patsy Lynch/FEMA.