Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?

Just wondering if anybody here is getting a good, close look at the Red River as it crests through North Dakota and Manitoba.

There have been a few calls for volunteers over the last few weeks. I've thought about stepping up.

So how do you lay sandbags to make an effective dike? And (as a thought exercise) what would you pack for a volunteer endeavour like this?

"Wear old, warm clothes. Gloves, rubber boots, and raingear are strongly encouraged." Really though, whoever you call up to volunteer with, ask them for advice on how to dress, right down to recommended brands if they will. It's a sure shot that there won't be any available where you volunteer, so best if you can buy your Carhart's or other gear where you're at.

City of Fargo has up a flyer on building a sand bag dyke, see http://www.cityoffargo.com/Flood09/Sandbagging/.

> There have been a few calls for volunteers over the last few weeks. I've
> thought about stepping up.

That's a very good thought, and I hope you do it. As the other poster said, please call first and ask what you can bring. Then ask what you should bring for your personal effects, how you can best get there, and what your shelter will be (tent, motel room 15 miles away, somebody's living room with 5 other volunteers). Ask how you'll be fed and if you should bring your own utensils, how you can wash, etc. The goal is to be as self-supporting as possible, so more people can be used to do the work instead of supporting the volunteers.

If the people asking for volunteers know what your skills are and when you're coming, they can better prepare to use you promptly. Having a bunch of people show up one day drains resources as they have to figure out not only what to do with you but how to feed and shelter you. If you show up without the right clothes for the job and the season, they either send you back or spend time and money suiting you up. North Dakota can have killer weather, and they don't want people bringing more victims in. :->

I am in the middle of it pretty much surrounded now I live and work on a large farm. We built a ring dike and raised the road in after/during the last big one in 97 so no real excitement.

Winnipeg has a hot line for info I think it is 311, out of the city the RM is your best bet on who needs help.
Sandbagging is fun but the clean up is where the real work is in 97 the volunteers seemed to dry up with the water. I spent a week mucking out basements and taring down old dikes. Fun

Welcome newguy!

If you have the time could you please start a thread about your experiences with the flood and tips. I know you must have your hands full, but I think we could all learn stuff from you/your situation.

-Blast

I have a couple of friends in the naval reserve (Regina) who just came back from doing a week of service, filling sand bags and such. A bunch of other reservists and regulars are in Manitoba helping out. The aerial photos that I've seen are just crazy - it will be next to impossible to get any crops planted this year unless things drain quickly.

In a related story, they dumped water from the Boundary Dam near Estevan but because of the situation with the river flowing down stream to North Dakota and then back up to Winnipeg, they recaptured the water in a neighbouring reservoir so they wouldn't add to an already frustrating situation. (2nd worst in 100 years only the '67 flood was worse.)

BigMca (Stranger...) best wishes to you and the predicament. I heard the PM was in the area when the emergency was declared in Winnipeg today.

I wonder what's happening in the Red River area? I just ran across a news clip that the Red River just dropped below "major flood stage". "Flood stage" for the Red River is 18 feet, "major flood stage" is 30 feet, to give you an idea of how high the water still is. Gosh, seems like ages ago when we were seeing news clips of people sandbagging there as the river was first rising. They must still be living with serious flooding in that area.