Kris Kerzman described today as a floozard – flood and blizzard all at once. We multitask up here.
I spent part of the afternoon out of the floozard with Sarah Kjos and Robby Njos in their home along the Red River in Moorhead. Their dike is right next to their home, so close it’s under the deck. Several pumps run constantly pushing the seepage back out into the river and need to be checked every 30 minutes. They’ve recruited a team of friends to help with the night watch to make sure the pumps don’t clog or freeze up. Everything that was in the basement is now on the main floor making the living quarters a little tighter. The couple has two little girls that are away with grandma and grandpa in Minot while the family pup, Abby, helps hold down the fort.
While the river continues to drop it will be several weeks before they can turn off the pumps and remove their dike. Tuesday’s snowfall added more moisture to the system and when it melts the Red River is expected to rise and crest again.
Red River stage, 9:15pm: 37.62ft
(Previous) Record: 40.1ft
Flood stage: 18ft
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- Snow falls over Red River floodwaters in Moorhead.
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- Moorhead police officers Jeff Nelson, right, and Brian Dahl examine a dike in Moorhead, Minn. along the Red River on foot during a snowstorm Tuesday. Up to 18 inches of new snow are expected to fall in the Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead area by Wednesday.
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- Moorhead police officers Jeff Nelson, left, and Brian Dahl patrol a Moorhead neighborhood along the Red River on foot.
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- Red River floodwaters are right outside the sun room of the home of Sarah Kjos and Robby Njos Tuesday. The couple moved their belongings from the basement to the main floor to escape the floodwaters.
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- Robby Njos makes a regular check of a pump inside the dike that protects their home from Red River floodwaters.
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- Robby uses a basement window to access pumps next to the dike protecting their home.
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- Belongings from the basement fill the sunroom.
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- With one hand on the dike and the other on the exterior wall of his home, Robby makes a regular check of the pumps.
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- Several of the couple’s neighbors have had dikes give way and basements fill with water. Falling flood waters have helped the couple relax but the Red River remains a threat for several weeks to come.
