Minot, ND Facing Massive Cleanup Effort After Flood Devastates City

While the flood waters are beginning to slowly recede in Minot, North Dakota, thousands of residents and business owners are facing massive cleanup jobs. Unfortunately and with dire consequences, most of them do not have flood insurance.

Over 4,000 homes and businesses in this central North Dakota city were totally inundated with floodwater from the Souris River. Minot flood damage could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The river finally crested on Sunday at just over 1,560 feet above sea level which is a mark not witnessed since the late 1800s. Of the 4,000 homes devastated by the dirty flood water, only about 375 of them were covered by flood insurance, so said a spokesman for FEMA. The reason the majority of the residents and business owners did not purchase flood insurance was because they never assumed that the river was close enough and they falsely believed that the levees built after the big flood of 1969 would provide them with the protection they needed. Sadly, they were wrong on both counts.

About 12,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes at the end of last week as the river begin to rise. The Souris River begins in Saskatchewan and works its way into North Dakota before ending in Manitoba. The river could not handle the large spring snow melts and heavy rain storms that pounded the area this spring.

Many Minot residents who returned yesterday to see the damage done were totally shocked by the sight of 10 to 12 feet of water inside their homes. The National Weather Service has predicted that the Souris will ebb very slowly and by mid-week, residents can only expect the levels to drop by two feet. While federal government aide will most likely only amount to a few thousand dollars per family, state lawmakers and local business organizations are working hard to try to come up with some relief money.

North Dakota does have over $485 in 'surplus money' so lawmakers are hoping they are given the green light to dip into a portion of that. What happened during Hurricane Katrina and what is currently taking place in Minot, ND is a grim reminder as to just how important it is to carry flood insurance. There are now thousands of people in Minot whose homes are completely destroyed by flooding and whom have no money available to re-build or to use to replace lost personal items such as clothing and furniture.

For additional assistance, including Minot Flood Repair and cleanup, you can find reputable companies online.