Update: Residents in the area of the 3rd Street viaduct – evacuation zones 5 and 6 on the map below – are being encouraged to evacuate immediately.
MINOT, ND – Corps of Engineers officials have told Minot officials and residents that the Souris River is expected to exceed 1556, one foot over the city’s levee system safe capacity. Flows through the Souris River are expected to be between 9,500 and 10,500 cubic feet per second sometime on Thursday, which would raise the level of the river to at least 1,556.6 feet and likely much higher.
It was stressed repeatedly that these projections were based on water that is on the ground. The projections do not include any future precipitation.
Currently, the City of Minot’s website is down.
Officials say they’ve never seen the river at this level, and so the behavior of the river is unpredictable. Minot Mayor Curt Zimbleman has also announced mandatory evacuations for the zones shown in the map below. Evacuations are to be completed by Wednesday evening, and officials say to expect the evacuations to last for “weeks to months.”
People living between Minot and Burlington are also being told to evacuate.
The City has released this evacuation map, as well as a guide for evacuation.
