As the Red River rose to its highest level in more than a century and pushed ever closer to flooding Fargo, N.D., the city's mayor pledged Friday to battle the rising waters and to "go down swinging."
In nearby Moorhead, Minn., more than 10,000 people -- about a third of the town -- were forced to flee their homes Friday as the waters continued to rise.
The water level now stands at 12.3 metres -- a 112-year record which is already 6.7 metres above flood level.
Forecasters say the Red River is expected to crest at 12.8 metres on Sunday; roughly the same height as Fargo's main protective dike. But they say 13 metres is a possibility.
But Mayor Dennis Walaker warned that the city won't be able to raise the dike any higher. He added that an additional 800 National Guard members will join the 900 troops already patrolling the dikes for breaches.
"Is that a gamble? We don't think so," Walaker said.
Overnight, the rising water weakened a dike in the area south of the city's downtown, forcing officials to evacuate 150 homes early Friday.
CNN's Susan Rosegen, reporting from the Fargo Dome arena, which has been turned into a sand-bagging depot, said residents aren't giving up.
"People are still struggling, they're still putting together the sandbags," she told 麻豆影视net.
"There have been some neighbourhood evacuations, some nursing home evacuations, one hospital is sending some people out as well. But right now no massive mandatory evacuations. That's the good news."
Gov. John Hoeven urged residents on Friday not to give up.
""We know they're tired, but we need to hang in there and continue the work," said Hoeven.
All able-bodied residents have been asked to help, said CTV's Jill Macyshon, reporting from Fargo.
"Still there's a sense of optimism here," she said.
"People feel they can still win this one. The mayor issued a Code Red yesterday asking for as many volunteers as possible. Inmates are out of jail, children are out school. Anyone who is able is being brought in to fight the flood."
Residents were fighting to maintain hope and optimism as the projected crest continued to rise above initial estimates.
"I've lived here 40 years and over a 30-minute span I've reached a point where I'm preparing to evacuate and expect never to sleep in my house again," resident Tim Corwin, 55, told The Associated Press.
Dick Bailly, 64, fought tears as he checked the dike built to protect his home.
"It was demoralizing this morning," Bailly told AP. "We got a lot of work to do. People have the will to respond, but you can only fight nature so much, and sometimes nature wins."
Winnipeg prepares
Meanwhile, Winnipeg and much of Manitoba was getting ready for the crest to move north.
Randy Hull, the city's emergency preparedness co-ordinator, said forecasters expect the Red River to rise much higher than normal -- but the effect won't be as severe as in Fargo.
Normally, the river level is about six-and-a-half feet.
It is expected to rise to 14 or 15 feet higher than that, but the city is well-prepared due to dikes and a floodway that were built after a devastating flood in 1997, he said.
"We're not going to have the same urgency (as Fargo). In fact the record levels that will appear in Fargo will not be the same record levels here. The highest, worst case scenario for Winnipeg will be four feet lower than we experienced in 1997."
Evacuation alerts have already been issued to 850 people from the Roseau River First Nation and Riverside, just north of the U.S. border.
And ice jams north of Winnipeg have caused water to back up, triggering the evacuation of 40 homes Thursday.
With files from The Associated Press
