Minot flood forecast could take another 2- to 3-foot leap; evacuation areas widened

• Lake Darling Dam on Wednesday

Water flows from Lake Darling into the Souris River on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Lake Darling is located about fifteen miles north of Minot. As many as 10,000 people raced to evacuate Wednesday as water began spilling over Minot's levees, and the city expanded the evacuation to include the rest of its valley residents Thursday. The river, which begins in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and flows for a short distance though North Dakota, was all but certain to inundate thousands of homes and businesses during the next week. (AP Photo/Will Kincaid)

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• Click here for more coverage of Minot and the Souris River flood on GrandForksHerald.com
• VIDEO: Aerial images of the Souris River starting to top Minot levees
• MINOT AREA FLOOD: 'A fight for our lives,' Burlington mayor says

The Minot Police Department says word of increased water releases as the Lake Darling Dam brings a new urgency to flood prospects for both the city and the Souris River valley.

All Minot residents in the Souris River Valley outside the existing evacuation areas now "need to immediately begin the evacuation process," a release said.

Here's the release:

"Effective immediately, Broadway will be closed from University to Burdick Expressway. Please use the by-pass.

"Preliminary reports from the Corps has upped the releases from Lake Darling to 18,000 cfs as of noon today and will go to 22,000 cfs today at 6:00 pm, and to 28,000 cfs tomorrow. This could raise the projected elevations from 1563 to 1566 at Broadway Bridge, and throughout the valley by two – three feet.

"All residents outside the evacuation areas in the valley need to immediately begin the evacuation process. Water from Lake Darling to Minot is moving with more velocity, so peaks are expected to hit Minot within 24 hours of the increased releases."