#171195 - 04/13/09 03:23 AM
Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?
|
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3235
Loc: Alberta, Canada
|
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?
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#171200 - 04/13/09 03:58 AM
Re: Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?
[Re: dougwalkabout]
|
Old Hand
Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
|
"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/.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#171225 - 04/13/09 06:24 PM
Re: Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?
[Re: dougwalkabout]
|
Addict
Registered: 09/19/05
Posts: 639
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
|
> 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. :->
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#171416 - 04/16/09 01:45 AM
Re: Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?
[Re: philip]
|
Stranger
Registered: 12/07/08
Posts: 1
|
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
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#172162 - 04/27/09 05:04 PM
Re: Red River Flooding - any firsthand views?
[Re: dougwalkabout]
|
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 09/15/05
Posts: 2485
Loc: California
|
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.
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 registered (),
673
Guests and
46
Spiders online. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|