I have posted photos from Minot,ND yesterday as we were down to pick up our camper and our son who was helping family and friends with tearing out their homes to get rid of mold and contaminants.  
 
I am flabbergasted to read that some question the validity of photos they are seeing so thought I would post photos from the area where our family lives.  
 
People up here have absolutely no idea the devestation which has hit Minot! 4500 homes lost, not just lightly damaged...LOST! Only 10% had flood insurance and the max amount anyone gets from FEMA will be $30,000.  
 
On the south side of the city, it looks like all is normal businesses are open, people are doing normal things. They need people to shop to help sustain the economy, they didn't need people when most roads were closed but they need people to bring money in.  
 
Restaurants are packed, why? Because people no longer have kitchens or even walls in their homes to cook meals for their families. We went to a restaurant with our family and were treated perfectly fine, same as any other time down there.  
 
Hotels are booked with evacuees and oil workers....sono you may not find a room to go holiday but a day of shopping to help the econonmy may be worth it.  
 
People are stressed to the maximum and tempers do flare occasionally. Think about it, many workers in stores, restaurants, etc are trying to hold it together knowing that the minute they are done work they will have to go back to what was once their home knowing that they have no insurance and try to tear out the destroyed remnants wondering if they can even afford to take out another mortgage or loan to repair or do they just walk away and declare bankruptcy.  
 
They have no "normal life" anymore....the flooding up here was bad for those involved but those criticizing Minot really have no idea whatsoever what our neighbors to the south have lost.  
 
We went to the book store and Target to pick up toys and games for our niece and nephew as they have nothing to play with, everything is in storage. The lady at Barnes and Noble was so concerned about our family and when she found out we were from Canada she was so worried as to whether we had been affected by the flood. She even said she feels so guilty coming to work and leading a normal life when she knows so many in Minot are suffering.  
 
People are living in and sleeping in tents at the MAYSA...remember New Orleans and the Dome, no different only on a smaller scale.  
 
The city where the waters rushed through, is no more. I sobbed as soon as we entered it. The rubble is piled as high as the vehicle down every street, home after home completely gutted...some swept right off their foundations.  
 
The army still is up and down every street, emergency vehicles slowly prowl, every home has nothing but stud walls, windows are broken, their lives are in a pile along the front of their yards, sink holes are developing......I knew it was bad but never in a million years would have thought this bad.  
 
It will take years to recover, and you know what they may never recover.  
 
I took pictures while we were there as I have been adamant that instead of "trash talking" the people of Minot we should really be doing more to help! The mental and physical stress people are under is indescribable....so intead of bashing them try to realize what has happened, the flooding wasn't like it was here, it was truly catastrophic due to the numbers of people who have lost so much.  
 
Please donate to http://minotredcross.org/ or www.centerforcommunitygiving.com  
 
 
 
Edited by Seriously?, 2011-07-24 22:28:16

where are the pictures?

http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21359  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21360  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21361  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21362  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21363  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21364  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21365  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21366  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21367  
http://ebrandon.ca/photo.aspx?picture_id=21368  
 
I will be posting more...they are under "Photos" on eBrandon

i think i found them under the photos tab at the top of the homepage. just type minot into the search.

One has to admire the resiliance of these folks , to pick up the pieces after such horrific loss. Where do you start ????  
The ONLY tiny consolation is that every one on the street is in the same boat.  
There is NO doubt that a loss due to fire is SO SO much easlier to clean up.  
part of the problem , as Im told , is that on a national/federal level , this is a minor event. And I suppose compared to Katrina it may well be, but I dont think any Minot residents want to hear that!!!  
To say the least, those are very disheartening photos. And they truly describe the devastation in a city that was better prepared , had much higher level of flood awareness & a much larger task force than Brandon.  
 
Also , dont for one min believe that similar devastation couldnt happen to Brandon. Brandon was LUCKY this spring, & I think the victory parade was such an arrogant idea!!! One should NEVER thumb your nose at mother nature!!! Had Shellmouth breached, Bdn would look similar today, & towns like St Lazare, etc, downstream would be history.  
Word of warning folks, be aware for NEXT SPRING !!!!  
 

rkd5.9 said " One has to admire the resiliance of these folks , to pick up the pieces after such horrific loss. Where do you start ????   The ONLY tiny consolation is that every one on the street is in the same boat.   There is NO doubt that a loss due to fire is SO SO much easlier to clean up.   part of the problem , as Im told , is that on a national/federal level , this is a minor event. And I suppose compared to Katrina it may well be, but I dont think any Minot residents want to hear that!!!   To say the least, those are very disheartening photos. And they truly describe the devastation in a city that was better prepared , had much higher level of flood awareness & a much larger task force than Brandon.     Also , dont for one min believe that similar devastation couldnt happen to Brandon. Brandon was LUCKY this spring, & I think the victory parade was such an arrogant idea!!! One should NEVER thumb your nose at mother nature!!! Had Shellmouth breached, Bdn would look similar today, & towns like St Lazare, etc, downstream would be history.   Word of warning folks, be aware for NEXT SPRING !!!!     "

The frustration level of what they are to do next while waiting for the government is growing...I too am concerned about next year.  
Look at how much water is still in the systems, it's almost August with freeze up in the next 3 months and then the snow comes.  
In Minot, they are starting to bring up FEMA trailers and setting them up in stubble fields by I believe Velva, can you imagine being stuck out in an open field in a FEMA trailer durinag a North Dakota winter...the only worse thing would be to still be in a tent  
Added more photos: http://ebrandon.ca/photos.aspx

It is sort of difficult to comment on the destruction of homes that has happened down in Minot, I was down along the dike in Souris yesterday and it was sort of a sad place with all the mud and dirt and sandbags as well as all the red markers and flags that showed the potential water levels that might be coming. Then one looks at the pictures posted of Minot and it just gives one a whole new line of thought. For anyone to even try to understand what happened down in Minot you would have to look at the number of homes damaged or lost, 4500 is the town of Souris gone, plus many more.  
 
Minot did not have the time to prepare for what was coming, to many things came together at one time and we now see the results but I doubt that many can understand the frustration that many people, if not the whole area is feeling right now. I wish that our media up here would take some notice of the situation in Minot and make a story of it, we should always remember that these people to the south of us are our neighbors and in many cases are peoples friends.  
 
Thanks for posting the pictures as well as your opening comment, it would do us all well to read it and try to understand the frustration that these people and families are going through, I doubt if many of us really understand the stress that they are experiencing.

This is in the exact area where our family lives and where I took all of the photos...Joey lives about 3 houses away from our family and we have met him on several occasions. Every person we have met there over the last 11 years has had their homes destroyed and lives turned upside down  
 
http://www.brandonsun.com/flood/minot-flood-victims-will-get-little-help-126159858.html?thx=y

I don't think anyone was not believing the destuction when they were not believing the pictures posted. Some of the pictures posted in previous discussions were definately not Minot, that is all. I know I directed people to look at the local Minot Radio/TV station pictures for more acurate pictures. My heart goes out to all affect by the flood waters, both in US and Canada