The rivers are rising and the floods have arrived

I didn't think it was appropriate to post on the blog about some of my favorite places at this particular time. I will resume those posts at a later date. Instead, I thought I would write and give an update on the weather and resulting floods that are currently affecting the Dakotas. We live in a county that has been declared as a disaster area. Roads are washing out and many people are stranded in their homes. More than half of the county has lost power and shelters are being set up in the local area. Our house has been taking on water over the past 3-4 days and Estalita and I have been working frantically to try and keep things as dry as possible. We have been putting up sandbags around the northwest corner of the house, which is where the water seems to be getting in. We are in the process of packing and moving, so the water is really complicating the process. We were up most of the night on Monday trying to shop vac water out of the carpet and making sure the sump pumps were keeping up with the flow of water. We are hopeful that we can save the office that was just constructed last summer. The temps. have fallen again over the last few days, so there is fresh snow on the ground and some of the groundwater has frozen. For now, this has slowed the flow of water into people's homes in the region. There are a number of towns within 20 miles of here that have been completely overwhelmed, but Fargo is getting hit the hardest right now. The floodstage level for the Red River in the city is 18 feet and the river is currently at 39.75 feet. It is supposed to go up another 2-4 feet and potentially crest around 43 feet. This could be catastrophic. Volunteers are sandbagging and helping to construct dikes to save as many homes and businesses as possible. Students at the college where I work are out lending a hand and trying to help local citizens. The gym at the college is currently set up as a shelter. Only time will tell just how extensive the damage is going to be. Lights out.