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Last modified: Saturday, June 27, 2009 5:07 PM CDT
Volunteers using sandbags along ND’s Park River
GRAFTON, N.D. (AP) ” Volunteers in some areas of northeastern North Dakota are gathering to help lay sandbags to hold back floodwaters.
After heavy rains fell late Friday and early Saturday, Grafton emergency management officials called for volunteers to help keep the Park River on the city’s west end within its banks.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for portions of northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota that runs until noon Sunday. The warning includes the city of Grafton.
As much as six inches of rain fell Friday night across the area, flooding fields and washing out some rural roads.
“You could water-ski out there,” said Lankin farmer and Walsh County Commissioner Jack Karas. “I’m not kidding. There’s whitecaps out there. I mean, there’s acres and acres under water and it’s deep.”
The heavy rains washed out railroad track beds in Lankin and water flooded the local American Legion, he said.
The weather service said the Park River will go over flood stage of 12 feet Sunday morning and rise to 13.4 feet by early Monday afternoon. That would be 1.4 feet above flood stage.
A flood warning also is in effect for the Red River at Oslo. It’s effective from Monday evening until further notice. The Red River is expected to reach 27.3 feet by Wednesday night. That would be 1.3 feet above flood stage.
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