Like the end of Titanic: North Dakota cellist plays Bach as Minot residents desperately fight against the floods that have destroyed 4,000 homes so far



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It was like a scene from the end of the Titanic. A mournful cellist played Bach by the waters of the Souris River in Minot, North Dakota, today as the town fought to brace itself from the worst floods in 130 years.

Today the city prepared for the worst as workers continued to bolster levees that stand between thousands of dry homes and the rising waters - which is expected to crest sometime after midnight tonight.

Workers sweated over sandbags as levees were built up to six feet above the level of the rising waters. Officials were worried that the levees might not withstand a crest predicted to last several days.

Song for sorrow: Minot residents watch Erik Anderson play various Bach compositions on his cello today as the Souris River neared its crest

Undisturbed: Erik Anderson said Bach's music is the core of who he is, so it just felt right to play by the water Damage was already widespread, with Mayor Curt Zimbelman reporting more than 4,000 homes had been flooded in an evacuation zone of neighbourhoods nearest the river. About 11,000 people were ordered out earlier this week.

Mr Zimbelman said: 'I'm looking at these dikes right now and we're praying that we can hold at least this much water out. There's so much erosion going on, we're trying to save what we can.' The river had been expected to peak Saturday evening at some 8 1/2 feet above major flood stage, but it appeared to be leveling off hours earlier as it approached 6 1/2 feet over that mark. Forecasters predict the floodwaters will continue to climb by two more feet. More than a quarter of the city's 40,000 residents evacuated earlier this week, rushed to pack any belongings they hoped to save into cars, trucks and trailers. Breached: A Minot home is flooded by the Souris River in North Dakota today. The water level is already over six feet

Holding on: Some homes have escaped the worst so far, while 4,000 houses have been flooded. Another 18 more inches of water is forecast before levels begin dropping

Fighting the floods: Volunteers work to repair a levee in Minot as flood water from the Souris engulfed entire neighbourhoods Sgt. 1st Class David Dodds, a spokesman for North Dakota's National Guard, said the situation had 'kind of stabilized' today. The Souris' channel wasn't getting any wider. 'The fact that more homes aren't being engulfed or being touched by the water, that's the one silver lining if you can even say there is one,' he said. Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he was encouraged. 'It looks to me like, barring any rainfall ... the (flood-fighting) plan looks like it's holding up very well,' he said. City spokesman Dean Lenertz said updated estimates of the flood's toll were being prepared. The city's water, sewer and electric power systems were still working. Workers labored to keep the Broadway Bridge, a major north-south thoroughfare, from being overwhelmed, a possibility that would divide the city in half.

Warning: Flood waters begin to pour through a breached levee and flood the Minot Country Club today

Barriers broken: A home is seen submerged in flood waters from the Souris River, after sand bags failed to hold the water back in Minot, North Dakota

Almost gone: The Souris River nearly covers a camper and the roof of a house in Burlington, left, while right, a clay levee begins to fall apart near a house in Minot, North Dakota



'This has been a very trying time for our community,' Mr Zimbelman said. 'It's emotionally draining for all of us.'

As they had the past two days, emergency officials focused on protecting water and sewer systems to avoid the need for more evacuations.



'The river's coming up rapidly. It's dangerous and we need to stay away,' the mayor said.

Roof tops: Just the roofs of buildings are visible above the water the swollen Souris River which has consumed whole neighbourhoods

Hell and high water: A neighbourhood is almost toally submerged in flood waters in Minot, North Dakota

Fed by heavy rains upstream and dam releases that have accelerated in recent days, the Souris surged past a 130-year-old record today and kept going.



This week emergency officials focused on protecting water and sewer systems to avoid the need for more evacuations.

Flooded: The Souris River flood waters engulf a cemetery in Burlington

They were confident about the water system, but a little less so about the sewer treatment plant. It had been sandbagged as high as possible.



Also of concern was the Broadway Bridge, a key north-south route. Levees protecting the northern approach were being raised, but Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Col. Kendall Bergmann said it was touch and go.



Head above water: The head of a lawn deer statue juts out of the flood waters from the Souris River in an evacuated western neighbourhood of Minot

Submerged: Railroad cars are surrounded by flood waters from the Souris River near Velva, left, and right, police tape floats near a fire hydrant in flood waters from the Souris River in Minot

The levee work also protected the campus of nearby Minot State University.



Members of the state's congressional delegation pressed for a federal emergency declaration making people eligible for individual assistance, a step they said was needed for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up transitional housing centres.

Sen. John Hoeven said a helicopter flight over the Souris valley showed damage to smaller cities nearby.



Shoring up: Members of the North Dakota National Guard lay sandbags on top of the dike that surrounds a library and fire station as the Souris River flood waters rise in Minot

He estimated more than 5,000 homes in the valley would eventually have water damage, including those in Minot and Burlington, where officials gave up sandbagging Thursday.



Deputy auditor Cindy Bader estimated Friday that more than half of the Burlington's 1,000 residents had left to escape the rising Souris River.

Wayne Walter, a Burlington city councilman and truck driver for a snack food company, said residents were stunned by the river's rapid rise.

There's no stopping the Souris: Flood waters engulf traffic signs in Burlington

'When we went to bed last night, and when we got up this morning, it was a big difference,' Walter said today.



'Down by the dikes, we saw it just trickling over (Thursday night). This morning, everything was gone.'

George Moe, 63, whose house was about a block from the water's edge, returned briefly to pick up some keys.



But for how long? The owner of a garage in Burlington celebrate its dry status during flooding in the region

Mr Moe said the only thing left in his house was the mounted head of an antelope shot by his wife, who died about three years ago.



Moe worried about the home he's lived in for four decades and the shop where he works as a mechanic; it was taking on water and he wasn't sure he'd have a job after the flood.



'I hate to see something go to hell after 40 years,' he said. 'There ain't much you can do.'

Meanwhile down south officials at a nuclear plant in Nebraska breathed a sigh of relief today as flood waters from the Missouri River receded slightly.

...And in Nebraska: The Cooper Nuclear Power Plant near Brownville, Nebraska, is still surrounded by rising flood waters

But their relief may be short lived, after meteorologists predicted the water would be back up to the same dangerous levels which threatened to shut down the plant yesterday, by the end of the weekend.

To add to the misery the Army Corps of Engineers predicts the waters will rise another three to five inches on top by early next week.

The National Weather Service said the river dropped more than a foot at Brownville, close to the Cooper nuclear power plant, to 43.1 feet this morning after the failure of a levee yesterday in northwest Missouri.

Closed: Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant in eastern Nebraska has been shut since early June because of the flood water level there

Before the breach, the river had been at a record-breaking 44.8 feet deep at Brownville.

The river would have to rise to 46.5 feet before it reaches Cooper, which is owned by the Nebraska Public Power District, but the plant would be shut down as a precaution if the river reached 45.5 feet.

NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said the plant continues to operate at full capacity.

Blue fields: The roofs of farm buildings just north of Council Bluffs, Iowa, are just visible above Missouri flood waters

Road to nowhere: Floodwaters from the Missouri River slowly cover highway 111, left, while a dead carp lies atop a flooded sidewalk near the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa

The corps has been releasing water from dams upstream where heavy spring rain and snow melt have bloated the waterway, causing a rapid rise in the river elsewhere.



Releases at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota hit 160,000 cubic feet of water per second yesterday, and the corps planned to continue releasing water at that rate until at least August.



The river is expected to remain five to seven-and-a-half feet above flood stage in Nebraska and Iowa throughout the summer, and water levels could swell more than ten feet above flood stage at places in Missouri.

Breach: Water from the Missouri River surges over a failed levee near Rock Port, Missouri

Water everywhere: An aerial view of Corning, Missouri. The Missouri River, swollen by heavy rains and melting snow, has been flooding areas from Montana through Missouri

Experts with the National Weather Service and the corps have said that levee breaches will provide only temporary decreases in water levels because there is still so much water flowing downstream.

Once the water flowing through a failed levee spreads out, the pressure will build up and the river will rise again.



NPPD officials have been monitoring river levels closely during the flooding, and they have already brought in more than 5,000 tons of sand to build barricades protecting the Cooper plant and its access roads.

Battening down the hatches: Workers with CenturyLink telephone company work on building a three-foot wall of sandbags surrounding a switching station during the mandatory evacuation of Craig, Missouri

Play time is over: Jarrett and Jessica Hunter watch the swollen Missouri River in Corning, Missouri, left, while road leading up to the Mormon bridge connecting Nebraska and Iowa are totally submerged

Some internal doorways have also been barricaded with flood gates to protect equipment.

Last Sunday, Cooper nuclear plant sent a low-level alert to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, called a 'notification of unusual event,' because of the rising river, so regulators are also watching the situation closely.

'We knew the river was going to rise for some time,' Nebraska Public Power District spokesman Mark Becker said. 'It was just a matter of when.'

The nuclear plant has been preparing for the flooding since May 30. More than 5,000 tons of sand has been brought in to construct barricades around it and access roads, according to NPPD.

Should water levels engulf the facility, forcing closure and repairs, energy bills in the area would be likely to rocket to cover the cost.

'In that case we may have to raise rates,' a spokeswoman said.

Carnage: Other vehicles were not quite so lucky and were swept away by the floods

Man versus nature: A levee manages to keep the water from passing