Fargo Mayor Dr. Tim Mahoney, along with West Fargo Commission President Bernie Dardis and Cass County Commission Chairman Chad Peterson, signed emergency declarations this afternoon in anticipation of the 2020 Spring Flood for the metro.
"The City of Fargo is in danger of suffering a substantial flood event and therefore must proclaim that a state of emergency exists in the City," said Mayor Mahoney.
The emergency declaration authorizes agencies of local, state and federal agencies to take action to limit hardships of this pending emergency upon the citizens of Fargo. Issuing an emergency declaration allows local governments to manage resources and funding under conditions that are not normally budgeted or anticipated. The emergency declarations provide departments and agencies the ability to initiate appropriate actions to manage and recover from the potential impacts of spring flooding.
The Fargo City Commission heard detailed reports and proposed plans from City administrators, engineers and emergency managers earlier this week.
"I am concurring with the recommendations of our experts and directing City staff to prepare for a 39-foot river crest," said Mayor Mahoney.
The City of Fargo and Cass County will be working together in a unified manner to produce sandbags at Fargo Sandbag Central to help maximize efficiencies and unify volunteer efforts. Fargo Sandbag Central will operate with a goal of producing 400,000 sandbags to protect the City and County.
Fargo Sandbag Central will open on Tuesday, March 10 and will continue operations through Friday, March 13. It will operate for twelve hours per day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Volunteers interested in helping are encouraged to visit FargoND.gov/FloodVolunteers to see when assistance is needed.
"While we have made tremendous strides in our permanent flood protection efforts, this is a serious flood forecast and we will meet it with a serious response. Our soils are saturated to levels like we’ve never seen before and we need to be prepared. It is critically important for everyone to know that we will need the public’s assistance; we cannot be complacent. Working together, we are all committed to successfully protecting Fargo, West Fargo and Cass County" said Mayor Mahoney.