Flood waters damage thousands of homes in North Dakota, Nazarene families included in the disaster
Flood waters receded slightly Monday in Minot, North Dakota, where 4,000 homes flooded and a quarter of the city's 40,000 residents are displaced.
This comes a day after the Souris River crested at a record level, and city officials say the situation is far from over.
About 30 Nazarene families evacuated their homes in Minot and some of those homes were damaged in the flood. Three churches-Minot First, Minot Southside, and Sawyer-where in the flood zone, but remained dry due to the buildings' locations on high ground and levies holding back water, the office for the Church of the Nazarene Prairie Lakes District said.
"The fact that more homes aren't being engulfed or being touched by the water, that's the one silver lining if you can even say there is one," said Sgt. 1st Class David Dodds, a spokesman for North Dakota's National Guard.
Scott Mehlhoff, pastor of Minot Southside and Sawyer Nazarene, is on the board of the local Red Cross and said the Red Cross is preparing to provide 10,000 daily meals for displaced individuals in the coming weeks.
The Souris River crested more than 9 ½ feet above flood stage at the city`s Broadway Bridge, which eclipses the previous high set in 1881, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.
The worst flooding remains mostly to the North Dakota portion of the Prairie Lakes District, however, several Nazarene families in Pierre, South Dakota, also evacuate their homes last week.
"More major problems will come when the water levels go down and clean up starts. We are anticipating that some of our families will lose their homes completely, some without flood insurance. And the cleanup will be long and laborious," District Superintendent Jim Kraemer said on Friday.