( CNN ) -- Facing near-record floodwaters , Red River communities in Minnesota and North Dakota raced Tuesday to shore up levees and dikes , officials said . `` We 're in the full flood fight mode here , '' Fargo , North Dakota , City Administrator Pat Zavoral said . Last week , warm weather and rain melted snow south of Fargo and Moorhead , Minnesota , causing the Red River to swell as it flows north . Upstream , snow and ice have yet to melt , pushing water back toward the two cities . Forecasters predict the river will crest Saturday about 20 feet above flood stage . Last year , the river rose to a record 40.8 feet at Fargo . `` We have every contractor we have in the area on a 24-hour shift , preparing dikes , hauling dirt , delivering sandbags , '' Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said . `` We have never lost a flood fight here in Fargo , '' he said . `` We 're going to be optimistic about this for the rest of the week , that we 're going to be able to save our community one more time . '' Volunteers have answered the call to fill 1 million sandbags this week , Zavoral said . `` We 're putting up temporary clay levees , and we 've produced sandbags , and we 're delivering them to the low-lying neighborhoods , '' he said . Early Tuesday , the river level stood at 27.6 feet , according to the National Weather Service . Flood stage is 18 feet , according to the service . `` We thought we had a couple more weeks , and with the weather and the quick thaw and the rains we 've had recently , it 's really made it more difficult and it 's really sped up the crest , '' Fargo police Sgt . Carlos Nestler said . Residents in Fargo and Moorhead are busy building sandbag dikes along the river 's edge . Fargo 's Kurt Kaye is doing what he did last year , helping friends protect their home from the rising Red River , which runs through their backyard . Like most residents , he said he 's resolved to keep the water at bay . `` I think everyone is a little tired of it , but they 'll get behind it and go , '' he said . `` They need to get it done to save their houses . '' Zavoral , the city administrator , said Fargo is better prepared this year to deal with a major flood . `` We 've spent about $ 10 million putting in permanent flood protection in some of the neighborhoods and bought out about 26 homes in the low-lying areas , '' he said . City officials have said they believe they 'll need about 1 million fewer sandbags than were used last year . Is severe weather happening near you ? Share your stories , photos and video . Meanwhile , along the Eastern Seaboard , flooding fears eased as a powerful nor'easter pushed into the Atlantic Ocean , though scattered flood warnings were in place from the mid-Atlantic states to Maine . Thousands of customers remained without power in the Northeast after rain and hurricane-force winds whipped the region over the weekend . At least seven deaths were attributed to the storm , five caused by falling trees , authorities said . See a tree on a house in New Jersey . Two people died in New Jersey . Authorities from Connecticut , New Hampshire , New York , Rhode Island and West Virginia said they each had one storm-related death . See photos of storm damage in Connecticut . The outages were caused mostly by power lines downed by Saturday 's winds , which knocked over trees and utility poles . Winds reached 75 mph at New York 's John F. Kennedy International Airport -- as strong as a Category 1 hurricane . CNN 's Steve Kastenbaum contributed to this report .
Fargo , North Dakota , flooded as Red River rises quickly . Scientists predict river will rise at about 20 feet above flood stage . At least seven deaths attributed to powerful storm along Eastern Seaboard . City still without power after storm in Northeast .