Worse flooding to come in Minot, N.D.

With a threat of still more rain looming, Minot was bracing Saturday for the Souris River to cascade past its already unprecedented level and widen a path of destruction that had severely damaged thousands of homes and threatened many others. The only thing stopping water from rising in parts of Minot this morning are man-made dikes. "Nobody has even seen water levels at this dimension," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. The Souris - known locally as the Mouse River - surged past record level set in 1881, and kept going. The water has risen more than 4 feet in the past 24 hours, reports CBS Station WCCO correspondent Jamie Yuccas - and it's not over yet. City officials were expecting the river to peak as early as Saturday evening at some 8 1/2 feet beyond major flood stage and remain there for several days, straining the city's levees to the limit and overwhelming some of them. Forecasters said there was at least an even chance of additional storms in coming days. "A rain event right now would change everything. That's the scariest," Mayor Curt Zimbelman said. Residents watched in shock as their homes and a lifetime of memories were washed away. "I worked every day, raised two kids by myself in that house," said Amy Braaten, one of 12,000 evacuees. "It won't be our house to go back to anymore. Like 90% of people in the flood zone, she has no flood insurance. "I look here and I'm like, I don't think I'm going to be okay," she said. As of Friday, 2,500 homes were under water and as many as 5,000 homes and businesses could be lost by the time the water recedes. Workers are scrambling to shore up destruction. Despite the sea of debris, Mandi Mosser is optimistic, and hopes the neighborhood she grew up is restored: "I will come here to clean up all the time afterwards, as long as it takes. As long as is everybody is okay, it's okay." More than 12,000 people have had to evacuate Minot - that's a quarter of the population here. Fed by heavy rains upstream and dam releases that have accelerated in recent days, the Souris surged past a 130-year-old record Friday and kept going. The river was more than 5 feet above major flood stage Friday afternoon. The predicted crest was lowered a foot based on new modeling by the National Weather Service, but it was little consolation in Minot, where Gov. Jack Dalrymple said frantic efforts to keep the floodwaters at bay soon would give way to a daunting recovery challenge. "The stress of this incident is going to build up very quickly," he said. With a threat of still more rain looming, Minot was bracing Saturday for the Souris River to cascade past its already unprecedented level and widen a path of destruction that had severely damaged thousands of homes and threatened many others. The only thing stopping water from rising in parts of Minot this morning are man-made dikes. "Nobody has even seen water levels at this dimension," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. The Souris - known locally as the Mouse River - surged past record level set in 1881, and kept going. The water has risen more than 4 feet in the past 24 hours, reports CBS Station WCCO correspondent Jamie Yuccas - and it's not over yet. City officials were expecting the river to peak as early as Saturday evening at some 8 1/2 feet beyond major flood stage and remain there for several days, straining the city's levees to the limit and overwhelming some of them. Forecasters said there was at least an even chance of additional storms in coming days. "A rain event right now would change everything. That's the scariest," Mayor Curt Zimbelman said. Residents watched in shock as their homes and a lifetime of memories were washed away. "I worked every day, raised two kids by myself in that house," said Amy Braaten, one of 12,000 evacuees. "It won't be our house to go back to anymore. Like 90% of people in the flood zone, she has no flood insurance. "I look here and I'm like, I don't think I'm going to be okay," she said. As of Friday, 2,500 homes were under water and as many as 5,000 homes and businesses could be lost by the time the water recedes. Workers are scrambling to shore up destruction. Despite the sea of debris, Mandi Mosser is optimistic, and hopes the neighborhood she grew up is restored: "I will come here to clean up all the time afterwards, as long as it takes. As long as is everybody is okay, it's okay." More than 12,000 people have had to evacuate Minot - that's a quarter of the population here. Fed by heavy rains upstream and dam releases that have accelerated in recent days, the Souris surged past a 130-year-old record Friday and kept going. The river was more than 5 feet above major flood stage Friday afternoon. The predicted crest was lowered a foot based on new modeling by the National Weather Service, but it was little consolation in Minot, where Gov. Jack Dalrymple said frantic efforts to keep the floodwaters at bay soon would give way to a daunting recovery challenge. "The stress of this incident is going to build up very quickly," he said. From CBS news