Prairie Lakes District, NCM seek volunteers for flood recovery

Friday, July 15, 2011

Minot, North Dakota

As water from the Souris River recedes in Minot, North Dakota, work begins on restoring homes, businesses, and churches damaged in the flood.

The river crested at a record level June 26 and city officials evacuated more than 40,000 residents from the city. About 30 Nazarene families evacuated Minot and the flood damaged some of their homes.

Nazarene Disaster Response and Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in coordination with the Church of the Nazarene Prairie Lakes District need volunteers to help with recovery efforts.

Organizers need volunteers through the months of August and September to help with flood damage repair, including replacing dry wall, carpets, cleaning homes, and other construction work.

Anyone interested in volunteering should visit NazServe.org and create a volunteer profile. Individuals can connect through the "Minot Flood Recovery - Individuals" posting. Those looking to register a team can indicate interest through "Minot Flood Recovery - Teams."

Registering to volunteer ahead of time will provide an opportunity for the district to organize its volunteer coordination. Contact Nazarene Compassionate Ministries USA/Canada with questions at ncmusacan@nazarene.org or 800-306-9950.

The Souris River crested more than 9 ½ feet above flood stage at the Minot`s Broadway Bridge, which eclipses the previous high set in 1881, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

The worst flooding was in the North Dakota portion of the Prairie Lakes District, however, several Nazarene families in Pierre, South Dakota, evacuated their homes during that time.

"We are anticipating that some of our families will lose their homes completely, some without flood insurance. And the cleanup will be long and laborious," District Superintendent Jim Kraemer had said when the flood started.

 

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