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Newsroom Chapter Blog
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Mar
31
3/31/2009 9:03 PM
It’s Tuesday night and I finally feel like I’ve found a moment to collect my thoughts. I don’t know how successfully I will round them up but I figure it’s worth a shot; I’ve only been in Fargo since Saturday, but already so much has happened.
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| The heart of the Red River Valley flood relief effort is the volunteers. The Red Cross and Salvation Army worked together to feed and hydrate volunteers and keep them on the job. Photo by Jennifer Ryan. |
I arrived here on Saturday evening and began work right away. Staying in the staff shelter that night, I had an opportunity to meet volunteers from all across the United States (at last count 45 states are being represented in the 718 Red Cross workers); I even met a volunteer from Hawaii.
On Sunday I had an opportunity to go to the Fargo Dome where local volunteers have been working day and night to fill sandbags. I cannot even begin to describe what it felt like to walk into that arena and see hundreds of people, all ages, races, and gender- people that may never have crossed paths before- working together non stop to save their community. It was amazing. The Red Cross and Salvation Army worked together to make sure all of those volunteers stayed hydrated and had something to eat.
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| Red Cross volunteers Eric and Gary, use an emergency response vehicle to provide food supplies to first responders during the overnight shift. Photo by Lindsey Weber. |
Even though the Red River is receding, the fears of levee breaches are still high. So the National Guard and first responders have been monitoring the levees around the clock. In an attempt to provide support, Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) began working 24 hours a day, delivering Heater Meals, snacks, warm drinks, and water to the first responders along the levees. I got a chance to go out with Gary and Eric, an ERV team from Minnesota, during the night shift. I don’t know what inspired me more-Gary and Eric’s dedication or the way the first responders acted when the ERV drove by. It was like kids chasing an ice cream truck. They were so unbelievably appreciative for the momentary company and free food. Many had been outside monitoring the levees for hours in the freezing Fargo temperatures (and for that matter, still are).
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| Red Cross Volunteer Marty Jones of Georgia took some time out to build a Red Cross snowman during the blizzard to boost operation morale. Photo by Lindsey Weber. |
But just as the Red River Valley Community was beginning to feel like they were winning in the battle against the waters, a blizzard has rolled into town and is expected to drop anywhere from 10-15 inches by the time it is through. And even if it is no immediate threat to the fight against the flood (which let me tell you, it certainly isn’t helping anything), the snow will eventually melt posing a potentially greater threat in a week or two. But all we can do is be flexible, be prepared, and keep supporting the immediate needs of the community.
Please keep checking the Disaster Online Newsroom to get the latest updates and to see how you can help. It is full of the latest news release, stats, photos, videos, and audio reports (even from me). While we are making progress, it’s not over yet and we can still use all the help we can get.
I’ll keep you posted!
Lindsey
Lindsey is the Marketing/Communication Intern at the St. Louis Area Chapter.
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1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Lindsey Weber- Update from Fargo
Hi Lindsey~
Keep up the great work!! I'm following your blog....so keep the updates coming! HOpe you were able to get those rain and snow boots before you left...
Cindy
By Cindy Erickson on
4/3/2009 11:30 AM
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