South Florida volunteer: Flood waters receed in Minot

Hello!

I'm wrapping up my second week in Minot, ND. The flood waters have receded substantially thanks to the hot weather and the water pumping that the city has been doing.

Flood waters slowly receed in Minot, ND

Minot residents are thankful for the help Red Cross
volunteers have offered

I’ve been working with the damage assessment team and we’ve finished our detailed damage reports. Thankfully, we have been able to create street sheets for almost all of Minot and Burlington, the neighboring city. But it was challenging because water was more than 6 feet high in many places. 

As the water recedes, we are starting to see everything that was hidden under the water. Trees, cars, bridges and houses are all starting to peek through. Slowly, the people of Minot are starting to get back to their normal routine, more people are on the roads and the local university is starting classes again.

However, many people still cannot get back into their houses because the water is still extremely high in some areas. As more time passes, some clients are becoming frustrated, but we are doing our best to keep them comfortable, informed and well cared for.

More than 150 client caseworkers have arrived on site now that the DA team has finished its work. The original plan was to go out in outreach teams and finish client casework activities. However, that plan has been changed to setting up service centers and having clients come to us. It is still a hectic and difficult operation. However, it has been a great learning experience! 

I am attaching some more pictures. You can see a clear water line in most of them to show how the water has gone down.


-Tiffany Hamm
AmeriCorps team member