UPDATES: FLOOD TOLL MAY BE $1.75 BILLION

GRAND FORKS, N.D.-Total damage in the flood-ravaged region along the Red River may reach $1.75 billion, according to estimates from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

The flood did far surpass the $25 million insured damages threshold for catastrophe status with the Rahway, N.J.-based Property Claims Service, according to Jim Welsh, senior claims consultant at the division of the New York-based American Insurance Services Group Inc.

"An educated guess would be that there are a couple hundred million dollars in insured damages out there, excluding flood coverage, which of course is underwritten under the auspices of the federal insurance administration," Mr. Welsh said.