Minnesota Red Cross Heads To Missouri To Help In Flood Relief
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Parts of the Midwest are reeling from rare December rainfall. The water is rising to near record level, prompting mandatory evacuations in Missouri and Illinois.
Flood waters trapped a man on top of his pickup near St. Louis. A fire truck towed him to safe as water poured out of the vehicle. It's just one of a number of rescues Wednesday as rivers and streams reached records.
"Water levels in some areas are expected to exceed the historic crest during the great flood of 1993," Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri said. Back then, 150 major rivers and waterways flooded, killing 50 people.
Now in Eureka, Missouri, destruction is everywhere. Water is creeping up next to the high school. Roads are now rivers, Trailers are under water, and so are homes. So far, 20 people have been killed in the flooding.
Minnesota's local chapter of the Red Cross will be heading down to Missouri to help the flood victims. Jason Bengtson started his career with the Red Cross in Missouri and is now happy to be able to give back.
Jason Bengtson is the Regional Disaster Recovery Manager for the American Red Cross Minnesota Region.
"These people have never experienced a flood before," he said. "We have trained volunteers that have experienced several floods and have been there, so they know what the next steps are."
Bengston will be helping coordinate so victims get whatever they need to move forward. This can include food, clothing and even a new place to live. He'll leave Minnesota on Friday. The Red Cross currently has shelters open in 8 states.
If you download the Red Cross's free Emergency App, you can access the shelter map from navigation. You can also set weather alerts for locations of loved ones across the country and see if they are safe.
Red Cross says he best way people can help those affected by disasters - big and small - is by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.