Dozens of homes have been evacuated and hundreds more are on evacuation alert Thursday as the Red River threatens to flood in the western Canadian province of Manitoba.

Flood caused by the Red River, which flows northward from the U.S. North Dakota state into Manitoba, has forced U.S. President Barack Obama to declare North Dakota as a federal disaster area.

Manitoba officials said Thursday an ice jam in the Red River has been pushing water levels high, forcing dozens of homes north of provincial capital Winnipeg to evacuate.

The water level is expected to rise above 12.5 meters Saturday, higher than the 12.1 meters that caused the "flood of the century" in 1997.

Residents have been building dikes to higher levels than originally planned. The Manitoba government has sent 2,700 meters of tube diking to emergency areas.

Residents along parts of the nearby Missouri River have also been told to evacuate because of rising water levels. Officials used dynamite to blast an ice jam to ease flooding.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)