© Joana Roja/FlickrThe Souris (or Mouse) River is a small plains river that starts in Saskatchewan, Canada, and returns to Canada in Manitoba, flowing into the Assiniboine River. The Souris makes a deep U-shape as it meanders through North Dakota.
An estimated 10,000 Minot residents began a hectic scramble Tuesday to move their belongings out of their homes and seek shelter elsewhere, while crews began an all-night effort to build new, secondary dikes throughout the city.
Many were told at noon Tuesday that they'd have to be out of their residences by dark. Others were given a deadline of today. Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman made the announcement at City Hall.
"We have to take extreme measures. The water is on the ground now. We know what to expect. It's not a good situation," said Zimbelman.
Residents of all nine evacuations zones in Minot were told they would have to get out of harm's way as soon as possible. In the meantime the city officials, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the North Dakota National Guard continued to devise a plan on how to best defend Minot against what is on track to become the greatest flood in this city's history.
The Souris River has been testing the city's defenses all spring. Now, fueled by up to four inches of rain from Minot to Kenmare and beyond, the Des Lacs River is rolling and about to play a major role in the fate of many valley residents. The Des Lacs, which joins the Souris River at Burlington, was on pace Tuesday to seriously challenge its all-time top flow.
