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Updated Friday, March 27, 2009 10:15 am TWN, By Blake Nicholson, AP



	Herb Read, left, and his son Tom Read look out over the flooded Red River as it rises up against sandbags that protect their home. They refused evacuation from the U.S. Coast Guard. (AP) Enlarge Photo

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Flooded North Dakota declared federal disaster area

BISMARCK, New Dakota -- President Barack Obama declared flood-stricken North Dakota a federal disaster area on Wednesday as some living along the Missouri River evacuated their homes and others worked on sandbagging and shoring up its banks.

Demolition crews blasted chunks of ice near a huge ice jam in the river in a bid Wednesday to open a channel, like pulling out a giant plug to drain a flood threatening the state capital of Bismarck. Officials planned two more rounds of explosives.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” Bismarck Mayor John Warford said after explosives detonated on about 500 feet (152 meters) of ice just south of the jam.

Gov. John Hoeven said the first demolition round, “blew a large chunk” of ice out of the river.

“Right away, you could see water moving, as well as ice and trees that were in the water,” he said. “Clearly, they are moving water through the ice jam now.”

Water backing up behind the dam of car-size ice blocks already had forced the evacuation of about 1,700 people from low-lying areas in North Dakota's capital.

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of the state, volunteers continued stacking sandbags to protect Fargo amid new concern over the rising Red River.

City officials said they would build their dikes a foot higher than planned, to 43 feet (13 meters), and would distribute evacuation information to residents on Thursday. The river was projected to crest on Saturday afternoon.

Mayor Dennis Walaker described 41 feet (12.5 meters) as “uncharted territory.” The Red's record high at Fargo was 40.1 feet (12.2 meters) in 1897. Walaker said he was still confident the city would beat the flood, but that contingency plans were needed.

Police Chief Keith Ternes urged people with disabilities to consider leaving the city, saying: “If they expect us to get to them and get them out, they should give serious consideration.”

In Bismarck, the Missouri River jam was created by ice floating down the Heart River, with some chunks up to 3 feet (1 meter) thick and the size of small cars. The jam was about 11 miles (17 kilometers) downstream from the city.

“The ice is just solid as a rock,” Assistant Water Commission Engineer Todd Sando said.

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