Catastrophic flood in North Dakota reaches 40 feet above normal

Downtown Fargo is seen at the Main Ave. bridge as the Red River continues to rise, Saturday, March 28, 2009, over Fargo, N.D. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

By Stephen Pate, NJN Network – The Red River at Fargo ND continues to perceptible fall, dropping to 40.58 feet above normal at 3:15 PM local time.

The pressure seems to be off as the peak was 40.81 feet at 2: 15 AM local time.

Inforum reported “The weather service’s latest trend prediction shows a continuing though very gradual decline for the next week, but a spokesman cautioned that forecasters still must evaluate the information.

Even with the gradual decline, which has held for the past seven or eight hours, the river remains very high, above the 1897 record of 40.1 feet, said Mike Hudson, a weather service spokesman.

“I think right now we’re starting to see the effects of the cold weather,” Hudson said.

Snow is expected Monday, and a lot of water is flowing toward Fargo-Moorhead from the south.”

US Geological Services chart

While the worst danger may be past, the City of Fargo is not finished with the worst flood in its recorded history. The City remains vigilant and thousands of people remain stranded from their homes.

National Guard personnel walk in the high icy floodwater as the Red River continues to rise, Saturday, March 28, 2009, near Fargo, N.D., as they try to evacuate residents. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

How the rest of North Dakota will fare in this natural disaster remains to be seen. FEMA has set up its base of operations at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The base will serve as a staging grounds for FEMA, the North Dakota National Guard, US Coast Guard and Civil Air Patrol. Up to 27 fixed and rotary wing aircraft plus and additional 700 personnel will assist in the emergency effort. It appears FEMA may have learned some lessons from its disastrous non-response to the New Orleans floods of 2005.

Here’s a video report
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byNEYKxp-Xs