Ceiling insulation being removed
I spent yesterday in Minot. I was kind of glad it was just one day. I’m not sure (none of us can be until we are faced with a catastrophe) that I’d cope well with the mess following a flood. But, home after home, block after block there is devastation and people are coping. Coping is a measured word. It’s meaning is a long way from “thriving”.
The irony (or for flood victims the pain) is that just a few blocks away other people’s lives are pretty normal. Much of Minot didn’t experience flood damage. The flood was an inconveience and now they are back to normal. But for 200+ LCMS families, they are not sure what their “new normal” is going to look like.
Even a few short visits to flooded homes sort of got my nose in a dither from all the crud that was or still is growing. Peggy told us that she has pictures of 5 or 6 different colored molds. I’m not sure I could rejoice at the arrival of a FEMA trailer. But, then, I’ve never been homeless. Many homes are literally framing and a roof. Others still need a thorough clean out and sanitizing and to be buttoned up for winter. Things need to be dried out for months before rebuilding should start.
As someone said yesterday, Fargo is at the edge of the known universe and we are 5 hours past that. This fall we need North Dakotans to step up and help Minot clean up, sanitize and button up for the winter. We have
2-3 months before winter slows things down. Minot is several diasters down the public’s disaster memory list now. But, the needs are just as big as other places.
Peggy’s home had water up to the roof. They had hoped to save the ceiling insulation but it became evident that it needed to be removed as well. This is painstaking work as a life time of memories is left on the street.
