Fargo Sunset

This was the view outside my window the other evening, as the sun was setting and the storm was ending.

The Grasshopper and the Ants: A Flood Story

The cities of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota sit on opposite sides of the Red River; both are affected by the rising water level. Both cities have been working to prepare themselves for this event. Dikes and levees have been built, sandbags have been filled, and flood walls have been installed for a major flood event. And already the Red River has reached “Major Flood Stage” at 30.0’. This morning the river is at 31.69’ and continuing to rise. Projections from the National Weather Service and from the Corps of Engineers estimate that the river will crest somewhere between 39’ and 41’. That’s a fair flood. The record set two years ago was 40.8’. However, those estimates of 39’ – 41’ are revised estimates. Earlier forecasts put the river at 42’.

This is the third major flood event in as many years. People around here are getting pretty good at dealing with the water. As early as December of last year, plans were put into effect to prepare for the flood waters this spring.

But some have suggested that being good at this might not be such a good thing. The attitude for some seems to be “ah… we’ve had worse. The river won’t go that high this year.” It’s a feeling of complacency. City officials have spoken about “volunteer apathy.”

It’s a little like Aesop’s story of the grasshopper and the ants. You remember, the ants worked through the summer to set aside food for the winter while the grasshopper played his fiddle all summer. When winter came, the ants were prepared, but the grasshopper starved.

Not only do the cities of Fargo and Moorhead sit on opposite sides of the river, but they seem to have opposite attitudes towards flood preparation. That’s not to say that the grasshoppers in this case, have been frittering away the time instead of doing things to prepare themselves for the flood. But the ants in this case certainly seem to be urging a sense that this is, indeed, a critical event and not something to be casually dismissed.

The Danish nuclear physicist Niels Bohr once said that “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” There are numerous factors that can affect how high the rivers will rise – temperatures, rainfall, snowmelt, ice-jams, etc… It could be that the river won’t reach those record setting levels or it could be that the river will swell to new record levels. It’s difficult to predict.

But wouldn’t it be better to be over-prepared than to scramble in the last moments?

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?

Proverbs 6:6-9 (NLT)



Already some streets are closed to traffic in Moorhead, MN because of the rising Red River.

The Waiting

It’s frustrating to some – to be ready for a flood response, ready at a moment’s notice, to receive the call – but to be stuck waiting… waiting… waiting… The water is there, saturating the ground, and filling the river. The water is there in sheets of ice and covering the ground in piles of snow that have not yet melted. The citizens and city officials of the Fargo / Moorhead area are anxious to do something.  As Tom Petty sings, “the waiting is the hardest part.”

Further exacerbating the situation is the continued snow and rain. Below average temperatures and higher than average levels of precipitation means that there is more – much more – water to move. The Red River is currently at 19 feet and projections see it going as high as 40 – 41 feet.

Two years ago the river crested at the record level of 40.8 feet.

Much has been done proactively to protect the cities. Permanent earthen dikes have been built, temporary dikes have been constructed. 4.8 million sandbags have been filled.

Million! They’re ready for the flood.

But they’re stuck in a waiting mode. Deployment of the sandbags will begin when the river reaches a critical stage – based on water level and temperatures. A long slow melt would be great – warm temperatures during the day and cooler temps at night would allow the snowmelt and rainfall to flow down river in a manageable flow. But the more days spent waiting for the river to crest, the more likely it is that temperatures will rise and the combined waters will flood the river.

Till then, you take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part.





The Waiting – Tom Petty, 1981

When You Go Through the Deep Waters

When you go through the deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown. Isaiah 43: 2 (New Living Translation)

It’s nearly over. The Red River has crested and the waters are slowly receding. Fargo and Moorhead and the other communities along its banks can breathe a sigh of relief. In Jamestown, North Dakota the US Army Corps of Engineers has suspended building of the levee system, noting lower than predicted run off. If the dikes and sandbags hold and barring a major snow or rainstorm in the area, the water levels should continue to go down.

With a grin Steve Carbno, The Salvation Army’s Deputy Incident Commander, said that he feels a little cheated. “We planned to a level that we never got to.” But that’s a good thing. “We learned a lot of lessons in last years flooding that we were able to put into practice this year. Our response to this year’s flooding was very efficient.”

It was a great effort from all of our volunteers, employees and the Salvation Army officers who came into the area from across the Northern Division. Captain Bill Mealy, Corps Officer of the Salvation Army in Fargo credited them for their hard work. “I’m not sure how I would have made it through this without each of you.”

In addition to the flood Captain Mealy and his wife, Captain Ann Mealy have been dealing with some personal difficulties. Captain Bill is recovering from a surgical procedure on his leg and in the midst of the flood efforts their daughter was taken to the hospital for an emergency operation. “This would have been too much for me, alone,” said Captain Mealy.

As the waters continue to dissipate and things begin returning to normal The Salvation Army will continue to serve the physical and spiritual needs of the people of these areas, ministering to them and serving them in the name of God.

Somewhere, God is Laughing

Sometimes we only get things done by the grace and good humor of God. I know that God must be laughing at us this morning; I can almost hear the cosmic belly rolls of divine guffaws reverberating in the air. It’s definitely a Monday.

The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Service (EDS) response is well organized and able to respond quickly and efficiently to disasters and emergencies of all kinds. We can get volunteers and vital supplies to afflicted areas with a moments notice, but sometimes we demonstrate our human fallibility.

This morning was one of those times.

It began as the canteen crews were loading their supplies – the sandwiches, snacks, and beverages that are served to the flood response teams around the city. One of the canteens was locked and the key hadn’t been put in its proper place. A radio call to the previous evening’s driver went unanswered. A phone call to his cell phone was similarly unanswered. A runner was dispatched to his hotel room to find him and to find the missing canteen key.

Meanwhile a truck with a load of bottled water was on its way to the command center and the canteen was still parked and locked in front of the loading area, blocking the door through which 14 pallets of water would need to be moved.

I wish that I had been ready with my camera to photograph the EDS ingenuity at work, but I missed it. Others among the team here are quite relieved that I wasn’t quick on the draw. They don’t want any evidence of this morning’s misadventure to leak out.

The back end of the obstructing canteen was lifted with a forklift and then rolled – ever so carefully- forward until it was out of the way.

Last night’s driver (who’d been on the late late shift) answered the door with bleary eyes and rumpled hair to hand over the missing key.

And everything is back to, well, whatever passes for normal during these kinds of events. The canteen crews are out delivering food and beverages. The truckload of water was unloaded into the warehouse. And somewhere in the heavens, God is having a great chuckle at our expense.

Red River Flooding

Once again I find myself in Fargo North Dakota serving with the Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Response Team. The Red River has filled up with melting snow and ice and is rising rising rising rising.  The water level in Fargo this morning was at 33.8 feet and is expected to rise another 6 feet before it starts to go down.  Last year the river crested at 40.8 feet.

Between last year and this year the cities in this area made extensive renovations and changes in their flood preparedness plans - more dikes, higher walls, contacts and contracts in place before the floods, etc... 

So while there is some anxiety about the rising waters, there isn't quite the FEAR that there was last year - and so far - there hasn't been a flooding of the inhabited areas.

In Fargo, over 1 Million sandbags have been prepared and 740,000 placed along the river banks - with the remaining bags kept in heated storage areas in case they are needed.  The heated storage is important since the bags become ineffectual when they freeze.  And though the river is diked and sandbagged, there are the cold and freezing temperatures at night. This, along with unpredictable weather (could there be more snow or rain?) could leave the cities vulnerable to flooding.

Further north in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Salvation Army volunteers are assisting the community of Oslo - a small town that is turned into an island protected by sandbags when the river floods.  Sandbag crews are building up the walls that will protect that little community.

 

Westward is the city of Jamestown, North Dakota.  I was there last year as well.  There the Pipestem and the James rivers converge and a lot of water is forced to flow through a very small area.  Last year it flooded the city.  So far, the city is dry, but city officials and Salvation Army volunteers are waiting and watching and preparing against the worst.