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NECHE, N.D. — The city of Neche is currently facing flooding as the Pembina River has been sitting within major flood stage and is expected to stay within that stage into early next week.
In Neche, the major flood stage for the Pembina River is 20.5 feet, moderate is 19 feet and minor is 18 feet. Neche is located in far northeast North Dakota, about 91 miles north of Grand Forks and just south of the U.S.-Canada border.
The Pembina River level is currently at 21.69 feet as of Monday afternoon after cresting at 21.74 feet Sunday.
Amanda Lee, a service hydrologist with the Grand Forks National Weather Service, said those levels are expected to stay steady throughout the week.
“All indications are that’s going to stay there for a while before it possibly starts going down,” Lee said. “There’s a lot of water around up there.”
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According to a Pembina County Emergency Management press release, access into Neche is limited due to roadway flooding and the community is currently building a ring dike around the city.
The Pembina River in Walhalla is holding steady as the river level is at 15.95 feet as of Monday afternoon. The river is expected to slightly rise and crest at 16.5 feet by late Tuesday into early Wednesday. To take stress off the lift station community members were asked to limit water usage.
Sandbagging efforts in Cavalier are ongoing as the sandbag operation has been relocated from the county shop to North Star Co-op due to flooding in the south end of town. The Tongue River level in Cavalier was holding steady at 20.5 feet as of 6 p.m. Sunday.
Floodwater photos from Cavalier, North Dakota, from my friend @KyleGagner… pic.twitter.com/Z30qG0kRdk
— Jeremy Ratliff (@JeremyRatliff) May 2, 2022
In Pembina, the Red River’s current level is at 50.22 feet as of Monday afternoon. The river is continuing to rise steadily and is expected to crest at 52.9 feet early next week. Sand is being delivered to the area and high school students will be volunteering to fill sandbags on Tuesday and Wednesday with the goal to make 4000 sandbags, according to the press release.
The Red River in Drayton is holding steady as the river level was at 42.7 feet as of Monday afternoon. The river is expected to steadily rise and crest at 43.5 feet by Wednesday. According to the press release, the Drayton City Council is currently “monitoring the situation and patrolling the levee. The city is prepared to add clay to the dike if needed.”
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Roads
The North Dakota Department of Transportation has issued the following flood updates:
- US 81 is closed in Minto
- ND 18 south of Neche is closed
- ND 27 in Lisbon at the Sheyenne River bridge is closed
- Interstate 29 southbound entrance to the Alexander Henry rest area is closed
- ND 18 in Cavalier is closed
- ND 54 closed from I-29 to the Red River near Oslo, Minnesota
- ND 18 at the Port of Entry into Canada is closed
- I-29 southbound on-ramp at mile marker 164
- ND 5 at Joliette to the Red River is closed
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has closed the following roadways in Minnesota, which may impact North Dakota drivers:
- MN 317, which is across the river from ND 17 east of Grafton
- MN 220, which is the north/south roadway adjacent to the Red River which goes from Oslo (ND 54) to south of Robin, Minnesota
- US 2 Sorlie Bridge in Grand Forks. The NDDOT will be performing routine inspections on the bridge while closed to traffic. These inspections are not related to flooding
- MN 175, which is across the river from ND 5 at Joliette
- MN 1 is closed in both directions, across the river from ND 54 near Poland
