Red River receding, threat of flooding remains

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 - 3:31 PM CST

Fargo First Assembly of God served as a staging site for thousands of volunteer sandbaggers. (Photo by Alyssa Flaten)

According to Pastor Bob Ona (First Assembly of God, Fargo, North Dakota), Fargo residents are breathing a little easier as the flooded Red River has slowly begun to recede. Although the river never reached the potentially catastrophic 43-foot crest that had been predicted for Saturday, last week's severe flooding damaged more than 300 homes, leaving hundreds of families displaced.

And with 4-6 inches of snow and high winds in today's forecast, the threat of flooding and levy breaks persists. However, even though snow is predicted, the good news is that the forecasted temperature for the next week in Fargo hovers just at or around freezing levels (32 degrees F).

"It looks like God helped us. The weather turned unseasonably cold, which stopped a lot of runoff and snowmelt and was a tremendous blessing," Ona says. "We thank God for that."

On Sunday, several hundred people attended a morning service at First Assembly of God, which had served as a staging site for sandbag volunteers all last week. Attendees were told to come ready to work so that they could quickly mobilize and respond with help if a crisis arose that morning.

"We're still at the ready because we may need to evacuate yet if the levies give out here," Ona says of the current conditions in Fargo. "[The levies are] all temporary, so something like an ice dam could form and release, or an ice flow could hit a levy. We're just at ready."

During First Assembly's Sunday morning service, hundreds of attendees prayed over those who lost their homes in the flood. (Photo by Alyssa Flaten)

Ona described the service as a time of encouragement in the Lord. Attendees prayed over those who have lost their homes to the flood. Following the service, people had the opportunity to register their homes to be used to temporarily house flood victims.

Convoy of Hope, a compassion organization affiliated with the Assemblies of God, has Disaster Response personnel on the ground in North Dakota. The organization has 40,000 pounds of disaster supplies en route to Fargo, scheduled to arrive Tuesday at noon. First Assembly of God and other AG churches will help distribute these much-needed supplies as soon as weather allows.

"I would request that the Fellowship would pray we would know how to bless our community in the aftermath," Ona says. "We want to give more affirmation for what Jesus can do as people rebuild their lives."