N.D. Guard soldiers helped with security, rescues and evacuations at Breckenridge, Minn., where the river was at five metres and expected to crest at six metres during the middle of the week.
Flood stage is three metres but the city is protected by a system of dikes and pumps.
South of Breckenridge, guardsmen stacked sandbags at the tiny town of Dumont, as the Lake Traverse reservoir rose toward the town. On the North Dakota side of the Red River, Fargo Mayor Bruce Furness put the city's flood-protection plans into high gear Sunday and said work would begin immediately on an earthen dike to keep the river out of the downtown district. The goal was to build the dike high enough to protect Fargo against 11 metres of water, the crest the National Weather Service forecast for Thursday or Friday. Flood stage is five metres and the river was over eight metres Sunday. Grand Forks officials issued a new flood warning Sunday afternoon as the Red River rose past 11 metres there, up more than one metre since Saturday morning and on its way to a forecasted crest of 13 to 13.5 metres.