Fargo Flooding

[Mike]

Folks -

the coming weekend may be a bit rough here in Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN.

We've been busy creating dikes out of the sandbags the community has prepared here. In the last 3 days we filled 1.5 million bags alone. Despite the precarious situation, the mood at "sandbag central" was a good one. Hundreds of volunteers were shoveling, bagging, tying and stacking hundreds of thousands of bags. The ones unable to assist with manual labor were running with water, and food was available, donated by local restaurants and grocery stores.
For all intents and purposes, even for "a tough guy", it's quite a moving experience to look down into a football stadium and to see all these people that don't know one another, working tirelessly on the same cause.
The emergency bagging efforts have subsided today late afternoon, and may continue tomorrow upon the cities announcement where they need us most.
Although we've tirelessly put in countless hours...

...unfortunately, we didn't get to a few houses in time:

Some of the areas in the cities have been asked to evacuated, some homes where evacuated by mandate.

Thousands of shivering, tired residents got out while they could and others prayed that miles of sandbagged levees would hold Friday as the surging Red River threatened to unleash the biggest flood North Dakota's largest city has ever seen.

The agonizing decision to stay or go came as the final hours ticked down before an expected crest Sunday, when the ice-laden river could climb as high as 43 feet, nearly 3 feet higher than the record set 112 years ago. The city got a one-day reprieve Friday night when the National Weather Service pushed its crest projection back from Saturday to Sunday afternoon, saying frigid temperatures had slowed the river's rise. While the weather service targeted the crest near 42 feet, it said feet 43 is still a possibility.

"It's to the point now where I think we've done everything we can," said resident Dave Davis, whose neighborhood was filled with backhoes and tractors building an earthen levee. "The only thing now is divine intervention."

Whether cell phones have reception, the internet is connected or the car is starting, it all quickly subsides to be meaningless.
One thing is certain. It's been an incredible honor to shovel, fill, throw and stack hundreds of sandbags since last Saturday, standing next to other people that have only one agenda on their mind:
"Make as many bags as it takes to save someone's home".

A huge "KUDOS" to all the people that have spent countless hours working on the same cause.

Mike

 

[GF]

Dude - YOU are the man. Keep up the good work out there! :tu:

-Galel

 

[nascar59]

mike and everyone else involved with this huge task good luck and I have said many prayers that no lives will be lost,

 

[NPQueen]

Moving to say the least. Thoughts and prayers for you and all those in the area. HUGS

 

[Phoebe_]

That's very nice Mike.. Helping the needy is a very good task I salute you! TC!

 

[Mike]

Update:

So far, so good. 5.5 million sandbags later, the river has gone down a bit, but we've gotten 14 inches worth of snow since yesterday. Not the nice, fluffy and light snow, but the heavy wet and really uncomfortable one.
Unfortunately, for mid April, we have another flood warning ahead of us. That's when this snow dump from the past 24 hrs, is going to melt down.

On the very positive side, the attached link is to a CNN report: They set out to report about a disaster, yet, what they found is a community that battles through the tough times and prevails.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/30/fargo.slideshow/index.html

After 14 hours of nonstop shoveling, I'm thoroughly tired. However, I've met people that put in even more hours without interruption. The spirits here are defying description.

On the sad side of all the efforts; the flood has cost 1 life, several injured and some homes were lost. Yet, compared to what could have happened, ...

M.

 

[RogueWriter]

Amazing story, really, just a great job. I drove up to Winnipeg to visit relatives just after the last great flood, and was stunned to see the high water marks in Fargo, really could not believe anything was left standing.