Upper Midwest Braces For Massive Flooding

All along the Red River from North Dakota to Minnesota, volunteers worked to protect homes and property from what weather experts predict will be massive floodwaters caused by melting snows from an unusually severe winter.

Thousands of men, women and children frantically stacked sandbags and built dikes in Fargo, N.D., on Wednesday in hopes of saving homes and businesses from floodwaters that could reach 38 feet when the Red River crests this weekend.

Melting snows from an unusually severe winter has already caused massive flooding in parts of the Midwest, threatening communities with floodwaters that may reach historic proportions, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"As the spring thaw melts the snowpack, saturated and frozen ground in the Midwest will exacerbate the flooding of the flat terrain and feed rising rivers and streams," said NOAA's Jane Lubchenco. "It's a terrible case of deja vu, but this time the flooding will likely be more widespread."

All along the Red River from North Dakota to Minnesota, volunteers worked to protect homes and property Wednesday. The National Weather Service warned that the river would crest as much as 20 feet above flood stage this weekend. Last spring, the river crested twice, damaged dozens of homes in both states — and it remained above flood stage for two months.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has already declared a state of emergency in several counties.

In Fargo, the Red River is expected to climb to 38 feet — just 3 feet below last year's record flood. Students in neighboring Moorhead got three days off from school to start filling sandbags. City officials there hope to build 40-foot dikes around vulnerable homes and businesses.

"Everywhere I go, there's 40 to 50 kids on hand," said Moorhead City Council member Brenda Elmer. The Red River is expected to crest between 37 and 39 feet sometime Sunday.

In Fargo, sandbag distribution started earlier this week and volunteers are building emergency levies in at-risk neighborhoods.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walacker said he's encouraged by the progress being made and his optimism has grown now that the Red river is cresting in communities upstream.

"We watch very closely what's happening in Wahpeton [N.D.] and so forth. They are good indicators of what's going on," Walacker said. "Are we optimistic this is going to be the high? I think so. In fact, I think it will come in below 38 feet."

Officials are hoping to have the sandbags in place sometime Friday, giving the city protection up to 40 feet.

Last year, about 100 homes were damaged in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and thousands were evacuated when the river rose above flood levels and stayed there for 61 days. In North Dakota, fewer than 4,000 residents had flood coverage before last year's disaster. That has more than tripled to over 13,000.

Meanwhile, communities along the Des Moines River in Iowa also girded for flooding as the water level of a reservoir north of the state capital continued to rise. The Army Corps of Engineers said water could begin flowing over the spillway by Monday. They predicted the river would rise above flood level in about 10 days, but warmer temperatures and possible rain on Friday could mean floodwaters will rise sooner.

Todd McDonald of member station Prairie Public contributed to this report, which also contains material from The Associated Press Copyright 2010 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.