Flood relief

The young men in our ward were supposed to go on a high adventure trip this week, a hiking trip on the Superior Hiking trail. Great plan; great place. They were in need of some adults, so I said yes when asked. Shortly after saying yes to the trip, the regional leaders of the church announced that they'd like to help with some disaster recovery in Minot, ND. Our young men were willing to change their plans and take a road trip to Minot.

Minot is a town of about 40,000 in north, central North Dakota. Their river breached its banks during the third week in June. 4100 homes were impacted.

We drove 8 hours on Thursday night and set up camp at the ward building. By the time we left on Saturday, there were about 75 tents on the grounds. The church does this all over, so they knew what they were doing and had a full compliment of tools and supplies set up in the gym. We brought a lot of tools, but extra rubber gloves, rubber boots, and plastic sleds (used for hauling ice fishing gear and, in this case, rubbish).

The first day we worked an area that was about one 50 square blocks--all vacated--not a resident or dog in sight. We worked one house--which had been flooded from floor to ceiling. We knocked down drywall from the walls and ceiling (the ceiling was the primary job and it was ugly--the insulation above it was still soaking wet--and poured on us when we took it down. The goal was to strip the house down to the studs--so it could dry out and be rebuilt. The most telling thing about that house was that there were several sand bags around the basement windows. The owners had hoped they'd be able to keep their basement dry. A week later the water completed cover their basement and first (and only) floor. They lost everything. Not sure where the family was, but I'd guess that it will take a year or so for the neighborhood to regain some life and activity.

The second day brought a new neighborhood and home. We spent the day in the basement, removing ceiling tile and carpeting that had been soaked in black muddy water. The sludge felt like oil, but we're not sure of its origin was. The job was dark (no lights in the basement), heavy (everything was soaking wet), and dirty...did I mention the sludge? The owner of the home came by while we were there. Her husband died three months ago. Two of her daughters and a granddaughter had lost homes in the flood. One of the daughters has cancer. Hard to believe her turmoil. She is in line to move into a FEMA trailer in about a month. Three trailer parks are being set up in the area.

It's hard to imagine the pain, anxiety, and hopelessness of the situation. People work their entire lives to establish a home, with friends and neighbors--a degree of comfort that allows them to pursue other things in life. One day their nest is gone--with no advance notice and no real plan B. The sooner they can get their foundation back, the better. I know we helped expedite their recovery.

I suspect the young men may have preferred heading into the wilderness for a few days, but they saw alot and worked really hard. I don't think any of them regretted lending a helping hand to those in desperate need.