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Moorhead Ready For Flooding With 400,000 Sandbags

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) — The city of Moorhead has learned some lessons about flood preparation after three consecutive years of major flooding.

City officials 400,000 bags of sand are ready to be deployed. And, that should be sufficient to construct sandbag levees to a top elevation of 43 feet.

The National Weather Service says there's a 40 percent chance the Red River could top the 2009 record of nearly 41 feet. Homes and business in the area are affected when the river reaches 38 feet.

Forecasters say the most likely scenario calls for the river to peak between 39 and 41 feet at Moorhead and neighboring Fargo, N.D., in late April or early May, with a maximum possibility of 42 feet.

Moorhead is holding neighborhood meetings on Monday to brief residents on flood preparations.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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