ND governor: Flood plan 'holding up very well'

MINOT, N.D — The Souris River neared its crest Saturday in Minot, where city officials hoped to ride out the high water without losing more than the thousands of homes already damaged by flooding.

The river had been expected to peak Saturday evening at some 8½ feet above major flood stage, but it appeared to be leveling off hours earlier as it approached 6½ feet over that mark.

Damage was already widespread, with Mayor Curt Zimbelman reporting more than 4,000 homes had been flooded in an evacuation zone of neighborhoods nearest the river. About 11,000 people were ordered out earlier this week.

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

The Arrowhead Shopping Center is surrounded by sand bags and the flood waters of the Souris River Friday in Minot, N.D. The Souris broke a more than 130-year-old record at noon when it measured 1,558.52 feet above sea level at the city's Broadway Bridge.

Sgt. 1st Class David Dodds, a spokesman for North Dakota's National Guard, said the situation had "kind of stabilized" Saturday. The Souris' channel wasn't getting any wider.

"The fact that more homes aren't being engulfed or being touched by the water, that's the one silver lining if you can even say there is one," Dodds said.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he was encouraged.

"It looks to me like, barring any rainfall ... the (flood-fighting) plan looks like it's holding up very well," he said.

City spokesman Dean Lenertz said updated estimates of the flood's toll were being prepared. The city's water, sewer and electric power systems were still working. Workers labored to keep the Broadway Bridge, a major north-south thoroughfare, from being overwhelmed, a possibility that would divide the city in half.

Zimbelman and others had fretted about rain in the forecast, but the National Weather Service said the storms didn't appear to be widespread or long-lasting.

Fed by heavy rains upstream and dam releases that have accelerated in recent days, the Souris surged past a 130-year-old record Friday and kept going.

Dalrymple spoke Saturday to flood evacuees at shelters at Minot State University's Dome, an indoor track and basketball arena, and at the City Auditorium. Thirty-seven people stayed at Minot State's shelter Friday night, and 237 people bedded down at the auditorium, the governor said.

The Minot State shelter was virtually deserted Saturday morning. One evacuee dozed among rows of cots lined up neatly on the dome's indoor track.

Dalrymple and his wife, Betsy, listened to Les and Jacque Younger, 30-year Minot residents whose home had been dry just a few days ago.

"We have about a foot, I think, to a foot and a half before (the flood water) goes to the second floor, and that's what I'm trying to save," Jacque Younger said. The couple, who had lived in their home four years, said they also lost a van to the water.

The Arrowhead Shopping Center is surrounded by sand bags and the flood waters of the Souris River Friday, June 24, 2011 in Minot, N.D. The Souris broke a more than 130-year-old record at noon when it measured 1,558.52 feet above sea level at the city's Broadway Bridge.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)