American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

This story is written by American Red Cross worker Allen Crabtree.

“When will the water drop enough so that I can get back to see my home?” is a question heard everywhere in Minot these days, as the waters of the swollen Souris River slowly recede. Section by section the City of Minot is allowing homeowners back in their neighborhoods when it is safe to do so. “We are concerned about people’s safety,” said Minot City Mayor Curt Zimbelman. “It is not just the water level, but also live electrical wires in the flooded area, and the hazards that residents will have to deal with in cleaning out their homes and rebuilding them.”

Cleaning a flood damaged home is not only a dirty back-breaking job; it is also fraught with health hazards. The American Red Cross recently teamed with the North Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service and First District Health Unit to offer two training sessions in Minot for homeowners to show them ways to safely handle the task.

Nearly 1,200 people attended the workshops at the Sleep Inn conference room led by Ken Hellevang, PhD, PE, Extension Engineer and professor at North Dakota State University. “After the flood waters have dropped enough to allow you to get back in the building and you start to clean your home there are a number of hazards that you must be aware of and avoid to prevent serious personal injury,” Hellevang said. “Homes may have structural damage, there may be live electrical wires, and you most certainly will have to deal with mold and other biological contamination.” He added that some homes will also present lead dust and asbestos hazards, and all of the cleanup work holds the potential of workers getting cuts or punctures.

He went through the step by step process and procedures for cleaning a flooded home. Hellevang talked about structural evaluation, utilities, what can be saved and what needs to be thrown out, the sequence of removing materials, cleaning and sanitizing procedures, hazards of flood clean-up, personal safety and protection, proper mold removal procedures, biocides, and structural drying. Specific aspects of cleaning a basement, crawl space, or main floor were covered.

American Red Cross workers Bonnie Bailey-Jones and Allen Crabtree spoke to the audience and emphasized the importance of being safe while reentering homes and undertaking the cleanup task. “Please take some of the informational material from the Red Cross and the Extension Service when you leave today,” added Crabtree. “It has tips to help make the process a little easier and a lot safer.” Red Cross cleanup kits were also distributed to the crowd, and at two other locations in Minot. For more information residents may download American Red Cross materials or go to the Cooperative Extension Service’s Flood Information site.

This story is written by Allen Crabtree, a Red Cross disaster volunteer.

Many of the fifty people gathered in the Minot Municipal Auditorium had lost their home and all their possessions when the Souris River flooded in June in the worst disaster in the city’s history. Every one of them in the audience had a friend or neighbor who had suffered loss. Stress and anxiety are running high in this close-knit community, and Medcenter One and the American Red Cross sponsored a workshop with Dr. Mark Doerner, a Medcenter One psychologist and American Red Cross volunteer. He addressed the gathering with advice on how to cope with the disaster, and illustrated how disaster can cause stress in the group’s lives and offered coping strategies to deal with it.

“Stress in life is normal,” Doerner said. “But stress must be managed. It can be a problem when it disrupts a person’s ability to do daily life tasks over a period of a few weeks.”

Doerner reminded the group that the Minot flood is a marathon event, not a sprint. Just as the flood waters are going to be slow in receding so that people can get back to their homes and begin the long process of rebuilding, the stress and anxiety are going to be long-term as well. The communities of Minot and the surrounding area affected by the flood have shown incredible strength, but the American Red Cross is seeing signs of stress among flood evacuees. As people return home, exhaustion sets in and the shock of the damage can cause an entire new set of emotions, such as grief, desperation and depression.

Doerner advised that people need to be prepared to pay attention to their emotional reactions and to the reactions of friends and neighbors. Pulling together and asking for assistance are valuable coping tools. Another important coping strategy is taking care of your physical and emotional needs. He recommended the three “R’s” are good ways to cope with disaster stress. “Rest, Routine, and Relationships,” he said. “Take care of yourself and make time to rest, even though you have a huge amount of work ahead of you to clean out and rebuild.” He also said everyone should establish a routine, including time for a break.

“Instead of scrubbing and shoveling until you drop, once and awhile turn the bucket over and sit on it, lean on your shovel, and drink a bottle of water,” he said. “The relationships we form with others are equally important – talk about your feelings, and be open about mourning your losses. You are not alone, and talking with others – and listening to others – is valuable therapy.”

While Doerner said that stress in these circumstances is to be expected, he also recommended getting help when symptoms of stress persist at a high level for more than a month.

“We have no control over nature,” commented Janel Schmitz, Chief Executive of the American Red Cross. “But we can control what we do afterwards.” She added that each of us needs to take care of ourselves following a disaster, and that the Red cross has specialists who can help us deal with our stress and work through the mental trauma of a disaster. “The Red Cross has several mental health workers here to talk with you after the meeting,” she added. “We’re here to help you in this emotionally stressful time.”