When her husband battled leukemia. When she helped clean up after Hurricane Katrina. And now, with her waterfront home of 21 years probably destroyed by the Red River. So on Sunday, she and her husband, Duane, sought solace at their church, Trinity Lutheran, in Moorhead. Across the waterlogged towns of North Dakota and Minnesota, residents weary from a weeklong fight against an obstinate river searched for strength in sermons and Biblical verse.
The National Weather Service said the river probably would remain below 41 feet, and on Sunday it ebbed below 40 feet. But a snowstorm was marching into the region. If the weather stays cold, the levees should be enough, officials said. But if that snow were to turn to rain, or if winds were to stir the roiling river into waves, water could flow over the barriers and weaken or destroy them.
Days ago, the weather service had expected the river to crest as high as 43 feet -- the height of the primary levees. Strong winds, and a river running three times faster than normal, could further stress the barriers of earth, clay and sand, which must withstand high water for days.
Because the area is so flat and the soil so saturated, the river has little place to drain. On Sunday, officials in Fargo, N. Neighborhoods in Fargo and across the river in Moorhead were still evacuated. Moreover, few families in the region own flood insurance, the Associated Press reported.
Fargo officials said five homes had been lost -- far fewer than had been feared. More homes were thought to have been destroyed in Minnesota and in rural Cass County, N. North Dakota authorities said two people had died from cardiac problems and 62 had been injured.
