Mayor says Fargo faces 'uncharted territory' with flooding

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Mayor says Fargo faces 'uncharted territory' with flooding



FARGO, North Dakota (CNN) -- Flood-threatened Fargo bolstered dikes and braced itself Thursday ahead of what the city's mayor called "uncharted territory" with the swollen Red River.
High schoolers build a sandbag levee Wednesday on the Red River in Oxbow, North Dakota, south of Fargo.

"We're talking about the river on Friday going to approximately 40 feet and 41 feet on Saturday," Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker told CBS. "Nobody can dispute those figures."

At a meeting later with city officials, Walaker said, "I have used the term, 'uncharted territory,' because it's a learning curve for all of us when we get into new levels and so forth."

The last flood near the level expected this week was in 1997 when the river crested at 39.6 feet. The record for the Red River in Fargo, the state's most populous city, was set in 1897 at 40.1 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

City officials vowed Wednesday to raise their dikes another foot, to 43 feet, after forecasts showed the river would crest at 41 feet. It is likely to remain at that level through next week, according to predictions from the National Weather Service.

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/26/floods.north.dakota/index.html