MDS begins Red River flood clean-up

Fargo, N.D.

To assist victims of the Red River flood, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) has established a base at the Mennonite church in Fargo, N.D., and has begun planning for clean-up work in southern Manitoba.

MDS will need hundreds of volunteers over the next months. Persons interested in working with MDS in North Dakota should phone (701) 237-6095; those interested in helping in Manitoba can phone (888) 240-5480.

Contributions designated for "Red River Floods" are urgently needed. Checks can be mailed to MDS at 134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.

North Dakota

Irvin and Edna Reimer from Hesston, Kan., arrived in Fargo on April 29 to provide initial leadership for clean-up work. The first volunteers, a group from Kansas, will arrive May 5.

Damage is widespread and many volunteers will be needed. However, facilities are limited so people are being encouraged to confirm available space before travelling to North Dakota.

MDS bi-national, regional and unit leaders gathered May 8 in Fargo for longer-term planning. Abe Ens, director of MDS region V, and Wilbur Litwiller, assistant director of MDS region III, flew over flood-affected areas of North Dakota April 26 and reported many houses were still standing in water, some up to the roof. Smaller communities and individual farms between Fargo and Grand Forks were totally inundated with flood waters.

Complicating the situation are pollutants in the water, including diesel fuel, gasoline, fertilizers, raw sewage and carcasses of livestock that perished during an April blizzard.

Manitoba

Starting around May 10, MDS volunteers will begin mucking out basements and cleaning and disinfecting houses in Manitoba communities on the periphery of the flood. On April 29 MDS committee members in Manitoba met to plan for when the water recedes throughout the area. Syd Reimer and Paul Friesen were appointed Manitoba flood coordinators. MDS will establish a flood response centre in Winnipeg as well as satellite centres south of the city.

Ens, who flew over areas of Manitoba on the morning of April 27, reported in some places the Red River, normally about 200 feet wide, had spread across miles of flat farmland.

Ens reported the system of canals, known as the floodway, built around Winnipeg seems to be diverting much of the Red River around the city. However, the more water diverted into the floodway, the higher water levels became south of the city and in rural communities.

Later that day Manitoba officials ordered all people evacuated from communities south of Winnipeg, including hundreds of Mennonites who live there.

MDS release

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