(KNSI) – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has activated the state’s National Guard to help contain the Red River in North Dakota. The river has been above the threshold to declare a flood for days, affecting over 100 miles of the border between the two states. The National Weather Service has extended its flood warning for the foreseeable future.
Executive Order 22-10 came at the request of North Dakota, officially asking for helicopters to provide aerial support. It went into effect Saturday morning. The states are working together under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. EMAC was signed into law by the United States Congress in 1996. The compact can only be utilized after a State of Emergency has been declared. North Dakota took that step last week.
The Red River is officially in flood stage at 18 feet as it passes through Fargo. Its depth is projected to be at least 20 feet for the next week.
The warning extends north to the Canadian border, where the situation is worse upstream. Marshall and Polk Counties near Grand Forks are both affected in Minnesota. Flood stage for the Red River in Grand Forks is 28 feet. The river has been above 40 feet for days, officially classified as a moderate stage. Levels are expected to be above 38 feet until at least next Sunday.
___
Copyright 2022 Leighton Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be broadcast, published, redistributed, or rewritten, in any way without consent.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!