Samaritan's Purse ('09 Red River Flood Response)

April 3, 2009
Helping Flood Victims

A Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Unit arrives to aid people in a small North Dakotan town

When the Missouri River spilled its banks and flooded as many as one-third of the houses in their town, the residents of Linton, North Dakota, feared they were on their own.

Most of the media attention was focused on Fargo, where the swollen Red River threatened to cause a catastrophic disaster. No one seemed to notice the small town of 1,300 in the central part of the state.

Samaritan's Purse became aware of the town when an advance team arrived in North Dakota last month. After assessing the area we dispatched a Disaster Relief Unit to Linton, where 90-110 homes were flooded.

“Some of the pastors in the area said we can’t believe that you are here,” said John Pryor, a member of our U.S. Disaster Relief staff. “We can’t believe someone thought of our little town. Thank you for recognizing our need, and not forgetting us.”

Samaritan's Purse is partnering with Operation Blessing to assess needs in the rural town located about 40 miles south of Bismarck. Many of the residents are elderly and disabled. Our staff has begun working with local volunteers to clean out flooded houses. A first wave of volunteers from out of town is expected to arrive over the weekend.

The work is challenging. Linton was hit by two blizzards after the initial flooding, and the area remains gripped by sub-freezing temperatures. But our teams are determined to help as many people as we can to let them know that God has not forgotten them.

Samaritan's Purse staff is continuing to monitor the situation in Fargo. The Red River remains well above flood stage. When the water recedes we are ready to send in a second Disaster Relief Unit.

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March 27, 2009
Residents Prepare for Epic Flood

Samaritan's Purse is mobilizing staff and volunteers to assist victims of catastrophic flooding along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota.

An advance team departed from our North America Projects headquarters in North Carolina on Wednesday, and arrived in the flood area on Thursday. They are meeting with state officials in North Dakota and Minnesota, and identifying a base of operations.

Two Disaster Relief Units are scheduled to deploy over the weekend, and will be in place early next week when the flood waters subside and emergency officials allow relief workers in to help homeowners.

Each Disaster Relief Unit is fully stocked with supplies, and is designed to function as a base for emergency operations.

The Red River rose to 40.32 feet early Friday, more than 22 feet above flood stage and inches more than the previous high water mark of 40.1 feet set 112 years ago on April 7, 1897. It was expected to crest as high as 43 feet on Saturday. Water levels could remain high for three days to a week.

Residents in the city of 92,000 had been scrambling in subfreezing temperatures to pile sandbags along the river and spent much of Thursday preparing for a crest of 41 feet, only to have forecasters late in the day add up to 2 feet to their estimate.

Several unusual factors have sent the Red River surging to historic heights. The winter was unusually cold and snowy, which left amounts of snow sitting on top of frozen ground that couldn't absorb it. A warm snap and heavy rain quickly melted the snow and sent it into toward the river.

Since 1998, Samaritan's Purse has helped people affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, floods, fires and other disasters in 25 states. The priority is to help those who are unable to help themselves, focusing on the poor, elderly, disabled and uninsured.

Most of the work is done by volunteers, who leave their homes and travel at their own expense to serve with Samaritan's Purse.

Samaritan's Purse
P.O. Box 3000
Boone, NC 28607
Phone (828) 262-1980
Fax (828) 266-1056