Friday, March 20, 2009

Fargo Floodwatch 2009 (part 1)

Fargo is gearing up for spring flooding, as the National Weather Service is setting the upper bound on the crest of the Red River at 40 feet, well above flood stage. Volunteers are already filling sandbags around the city to help top off existing dikes and create strategic walls in needed spots. A Facebook group has also been created to help marshall volunteers.

My house is presumably safe; beyond the water we get in the basement everytime a bird dribbles I'm not expecting any flood waters to make it to my part of town. But Microsoft Fargo is already prepping for flood fighting. We have an internal online resource where people can go to volunteer to help sandbag or ask for help in sandbagging.

I myself am planning to pack a bag with clothes and tools appropriate to flood fighting so I can go at a moments notice from work if needed. It's been awhile since this sort of effort was needed (1997 to be exact) in Fargo. Hopefully the NWS will be off in its prediction and the crest will be much lower, but it's not looking that way right now.

2 comments: