PRESS RELEASE
Fargo Salvation Army: Pre-Flood Service to 11,000 People
March 16, 2011 – The floods haven’t even hit yet, and already the Fargo Salvation Army has served more than 11,000 people.
Salvation Army staff and volunteers have served nearly 10,000 meals and nearly 19,000 beverages to most of the 12,500 Fargo and Moorhead volunteers who’ve been filling sandbags since mid-February.
The volunteers wrapped up their operation last Friday after filling about 2.5 million sandbags. The sandbags will be used to protect the city from river levels of up to 43 feet.
In 2009, the Red River crested at a record 40.89 feet. That record could soon break, as Minnesota and North Dakota communities risk major flooding due to high rainfall last autumn and unusually high snowfall this winter.
The Salvation Army has spent months preparing for the floods. A command center is being established at the Northern Division Headquarters in Roseville, where disaster services officials will provide communication and logistics support to Salvation Army staging points in key geographic areas of Minnesota and North Dakota. Volunteers are being recruited in cities big and small. New equipment is being purchased. Mobile kitchens are being serviced and inspected.
“We are gearing up to meet needs wherever they are presented,” said Drew Hasty, Disaster Services assistant director.
