CAVALIER, N.D., May 22 (UPI) — Cavalier, N.D., remained virtually closed Wednesday as water gathered in the Tongue River watershed, and residents and crews monitored dams in the region.
Police blocked off all entrances to Cavalier — a town of 1,300 in Pembina County — where a mandatory evacuation order was issued Tuesday due to rising waters, The Forum of Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., reported Wednesday.
The area received about 9 inches of rainfall from Friday to Tuesday.
Walsh County State’s Attorney Barbara Whelan, who also serves as Pembina County assistant state’s attorney, said Renwick Dam, 5 miles west of Cavalier, and a series of retention dams behind it were holding Wednesday, after construction crews added 2 to 3 feet to a temporary section on the dam spillway.
“All the dams are operating,” Whelan said. “We have had no dam failures.”
Whelan said water was still rising, but at a decreasing rate.
“The dam is being monitored 24-7, and volunteers are walking the dam,” she said.
Whelan said plans call for a Red Cross shelter to be shut down at 9 p.m. Wednesday unless demand for shelter rebounds.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
