The Salvation Army Ready for Round Two of Red River Flood

The Salvation Army is gearing up for round two of the Red River Flood of 2009.

The bell will sound Thursday, when The Salvation Army provides mass food and hydration services to thousands of volunteers filling sandbags in the parking lot of the Fargodome. An estimated 500,000 sandbags are expected to be filled there by Saturday afternoon to help combat a second Red River crest that the National Weather Service says could reach 42.8 feet or higher by late April.

Also on Saturday, The Salvation Army will distribute hundreds of cleanup kits to residents of Oakport Township, a Moorhead subdivision with about 350 houses. Virtually all of these homes were impacted by the flood.

Of the six Salvation Army mobile feeding units (canteens) deployed to Fargo/Moorhead from across Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa, several will soon be parked in strategic spots throughout the area.

“We’re moving into an operation like we did in New Orleans, where we park and have people come to us,” said Steve Carbno, Salvation Army Disaster Services Director for Cass and Clay counties. “This is the best strategy right now, as new contingency dikes have prevented us from accessing many neighborhoods.”

Since the first round of flooding in late March, when the Red River reached a record 40.82 feet, The Salvation Army has served 101,000 meals, 181,000 drinks and 180,000 snacks to tens of thousands of volunteers and flood responders in both the Fargo/Moorhead area and other flood-affected communities.  

“We are prepared to provide this same level of service should the Red and other North Dakota rivers reach unprecedented levels,” said Captain Adam Moore, administrator of the Fargo Salvation Army.    

The Salvation Army is currently offering social services – food, fuel, clothing, more – to hundreds of Minnesota and North Dakota families whose homes have been destroyed or damaged from flood waters.

“Everyone in this area has been through so much in the past few weeks,” Carbno continued. “Emotions are thick right now. In addition to meeting these people’s physical needs, being a faith-based organization, The Salvation Army is also focused on meeting their spiritual needs.”