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Dear friends in Christ,
Lutheran Disaster Response (a shared ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) is responding to
flash flooding in northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota caused by
more than ten days of intense rain. Extremely heavy rainfall began on June
19, and compounded by an already-full drainage system, combined to create
an overland flooding problem. The water spread overland across the
countryside, washing out roads, flooding homes, backing up raw sewage, and
drowning crops.
Initial assessment indicates the hardest hit areas in Minnesota were in
Clay County (affecting 400 families in the Moorhead area and 64 families in
Dilworth). There is major crop damage in a 20-mile by 25-mile wide area.
In North Dakota the damage extended over a widespread area, affecting
families from Fargo to the Grand Forks County area. Early estimates are
that 36 percent of the homes in Fargo sustained some damage. This flooding
has damaged houses unaffected by the Red River flood three years ago.
State emergency managers currently list over 350 affected houses in Grand
Forks County. Approximately 1.5 million acres of farmland have been
flooded.
This LDR response will be a coordinated effort. It will include the LCMS
North Dakota District (President Norman Sincebaugh) and the Minnesota North
District (President David Bode); the ELCA Eastern North Dakota Synod
(Bishop Rick Foss) and the Northwestern Minnesota Synod (Bishop Arlen
Hermodson); and Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota (Keith Ingle,
President) and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (Mark Peterson,
President). Both Bonnie Turner (LDR-North Dakota disaster coordinator) and
Melanie Josephson (LDR Minnesota disaster coordinator) are overseeing the
response.
In both states LDR, through the social ministry agencies, has been
distributing food and water, and providing free counseling services. An
initial grant of $65,000 grant has been provided by LDR to enable case
management in both states, and to establish counseling services. The
skills of parish nurses and Stephen Ministers will also be utilized as part
of the response. Local volunteers are assisting with emergency needs and
cleanup efforts. At this moment, outside volunteers are not needed and
cannot be utilized.
Your prayers will uphold those impacted by these floods, and those who are
offering assistance. And your contributions enable the church to respond,
letting the disaster survivors know God loves them and God's people will
offer help and hope.
To contribute:
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "MN/ND Flash Floods"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
LC-MS World Relief
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
In Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Mon, Jun 26, 2000, 3:16 pm). Director for
ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
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