Red River cresting, at least for now
FARGO, N.D., March 28 (UPI) -- Folks along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota got at least a temporary reprieve Saturday with the swollen river starting to crest lower than expected.
The National Weather Service said the Red had surged to 40.82 feet early in the morning but that by 10:15 a.m. it had eased to 40.69 and it was at 40.53 at 5:15 p.m. While sub-freezing temperatures were slowing the snow melt, forecasters said it was too early to say with certainty the positive trend would continue.
There also was welcome news for people downriver at Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn., where the projected crest was lowered from 53 feet to about 51 feet by Thursday. The river was at 48.26 feet at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The weather service said the forecast was for additional precipitation in the coming week and "slightly warmer temperatures may cause the rivers to rise again." The weather service also said there are "significant ice jams" on the river, including one a half-mile long upstream from the Thompson Bridge.
Ice jams can cause localized, but rapid, rises in water levels.
The highest river level at Fargo so far was shy of the 42 feet expected earlier, but was still above the 1897 record of 40.1 feet and the situation could reverse itself, the weather service said.
Levee breaks Friday prompted evacuations of two neighborhoods in Fargo, while residents of a Moorhead neighborhood were urged to leave later in the day, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported. About 2,660 homes in all had been evacuated, while enough food for 30,000 residents had been stockpiled in local shelters.
Dikes protecting the two cities' central business districts held Friday, prompting Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland to say, "Right now, we're just holding our breath."
"As long as the crest predictions don't rise, we'll be fine," Dave Rogness, emergency manager for Cass County, Minn., told the Star Tribune. "We're at the stage we need to be."
Indonesia dam burst toll rises to 91
JAKARTA, March 28 (UPI) -- The death toll from a burst dam on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, has risen to 91 with dozens of people still missing, officials said Saturday.
Officials told Japan's Kyodo news agency more than 100 people still missing are feared dead.
''There is a possibility that the number of missing could still rise as many students living in rental rooms near the dam were believed to be swept away by the water,'' said Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for the National Disaster Coordinating Agency.
Rescue workers were searching for survivors and bodies after about 400 homes were destroyed by a wall of water in the suburb of Cirendeu early Friday, the BBC reported.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to bring help to the affected families and to rebuild Situ Gintung dam, which was constructed in 1933 by the Dutch colonial government to hold a man-made lake.
"We will design the new structure in a proper way so that it will not cause any further public concern," Yudhoyono said.
Witnesses told The New York Times the dam broke about 2 a.m., unleashing a torrent of water that tore through a low-lying valley, inundating flimsy houses and surprising residents in their sleep with waves of mud and water.
Experts told the BBC very little maintenance had been done of the earthen dam since it was built. The Jakarta Globe newspaper reported that Cirendeu residents had observed cracks in the dam last year.
Report: Spain investigating Gonzales, Yoo
MADRID, March 28 (UPI) -- A Spanish court has begun a process that could lead to a probe into whether U.S. officials broke international law on torture of prisoners, an official said.
Citing an official close to the case, The New York Times reported Saturday that the Spanish judge who ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has forwarded the case to a prosecutor's office. The official told the newspaper it is "highly probable" the investigation of six former officials of the George W. Bush administration -- including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- could lead to arrest warrants.
The investigation is intended to determine whether Gonzales and others violated international law by developing a legalistic rationale for the use of torture against prisoners at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The prosecutor was instructed to investigate whether former Justice Department attorney John Yoo, who provided legal opinions that Bush could legally disregard Geneva Conventions, violated international law.
Some U.S. legal analysts said warrants issued in Spain might have little practical effect and would almost certainly not result in arrests as long as those named in warrants remain in the United States, the Times reported.
Spain has a claim to jurisdiction in the matter because five Spanish citizens or residents have claimed they were tortured while held at Guantanamo.
31 killed in Philippine clashes
COTABATO CITY, Philippines, March 28 (UPI) -- Clashes between government troops and Islamic militants have left at least 31 people dead in the Philippines, officials said.
The Philippine Star reported Saturday the dead included 23 Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, seven soldiers and one militiaman. The fighting occurred in two battles while President Gloria Arroyo visited central Mindanao Friday, the newspaper said.
Col. Marlou Salazar told the Star the rebels fired mortar shells on army positions and attacked a military patrol near Mamasapano, several miles from where Arroyo was to make a stop on her tour.
Other fighting occurred at Barangay Sta.
"The president appeared unmindful of her security; anyway the fighting was far away," a provincial official said.
Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said government troops started the fighting by attacking a community where some rebel families lived.
