The Rising River

The region has captured the nation's eye as the Red River of the North rises...and rises...and rises. The last time the river flooded was in 1997. Since then, dikes have been built, bridges have been raised, and people are vigilant.

A residence preparing to bag sand for their Moorhead neighborhood.

All three of the Fargo-Moorhead universities cancelled classes "until further notice" so that students, faculty, and staff could help with sandbagging efforts. Roads are already washed out.

The most surprising part of my first flood experience is to see the area shut down. Blizzard? Everything goes on as planned. We can deal with snow, sleet, ice, and ridiculous cold. But water is another matter.

- A few cities have shut off city water, because they cannot deal with the backlog.
- Other cities are advising residents not to use water in their homes.
- Fargo-Moorhead has urgently asked motorists to stay away from the river area. The cities ARE the river area.
- The river is expected to crest as early as Friday. As of this morning, they had only sandbagged about 1/3 of what they think they will need (2 million sandbags!)
- Inmates and high school students are working together in the sandbagging efforts.
- City buses are only running routes to take volunteers to sandbag locations.
- Several bridges in Fargo-Moorhead have been closed and many roads are underwater.
- It is raining.


This blog tells one man's flood story. It hits pretty close to home.