Flood fight begins for North Dakota, Minnesota residents along Red River

Red River rise has ND, Minn. residents on guard

FARGO, N.D. — The Red River is rising — and so is the anxiety level for residents in North Dakota and Minnesota who dealt with record flooding last year.

A National Weather Service forecast shows the river rising to a peak of 38 feet in Fargo next Saturday before it starts to level off or drop. That’s 8 feet above major flood stage.

Residents in the Fargo-Moorhead area stacked about 6 million sandbags last year to hold off the flooding, when the river topped 40 feet. Rivers and streams burst their banks in North Dakota and Minnesota, damaging hundreds of homes and causing an estimated $100 million in damage.

Fargo officials say they will begin delivering sandbags to neighborhoods soon. Volunteers have filled about 740,000 so far.