Dark days in North Dakota – this false-colour image shows standing water (dark blue) after the Red River in the US state burst its banks last month. The river crested at 11.3m (37ft) according to the country's National Weather Service. Although high, this was still 1m below 2009's record. A cold front passing through the area on 19 March slowed the rate of snowmelt feeding local rivers. That, combined with sandbags and dikes, spared the town of Fargo from serious flooding. North of town, however, agricultural fields and roads were submerged. As well as the Red River, the Sheyenne and Buffalo Rivers flow through the area pictured here. The flooding resulted primarily from the Red River’s failure to absorb water from the tributaries feeding it.
Photograph: Ali/EO-1/Nasa
The Guardian
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