May 21, 2013
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Bismarck, North Dakota, is bracing for
further flooding.
Record amounts of water are feeding into the Missouri River from swollen tributaries on top of a blizzard. State officials are
urging evacuations along the river and are considering using
helicopters to dynamite an ice jam to ease flooding around
Bismarck.
Residents in low-lying subdivisions were ordered to leave their homes Tuesday after access roads became immersed in water.
President Barack Obama has declared North Dakota a federal disaster area, which means the federal government will pay 75
percent of state and local government costs for the flood fight.
North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven says the state is grateful for the
help.
Most flood concern earlier had been focused on North Dakota's biggest city, Fargo, and its neighbor Moorhead, Minn.
Hundreds of volunteers have been piling sandbags, with a goal of filling nearly 2 million.
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