Salvation Army helping flood victims along 300-mile corridor

Salvation Army helping flood victims along 300-mile corridor
The Salvation Army is distributing flood cleanup supplies. It has a donation site near 84th Street and West Center Road. BLAKE URSCH/THE WORLD-HERALD

Representatives for the Salvation Army’s Western Division are providing meals and supplies to flood victims from South Dakota to southwest Iowa in one of the largest campaigns ever for the organization, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Volunteers are working a 300-mile corridor from Watertown, South Dakota, to Fremont County, Iowa, that includes 12 mobile kitchens, Salvation Army spokesman Todd Andrews said. Supply trucks loaded with cleanup items also are sent out regularly to those areas.

Andrews said several hundred volunteers are involved in the campaign and they already have worked “over 3,000 hours.”

“Our ongoing flood relief operation is believed to be the largest in the history of the Salvation Army Western Division, which stretches back into the 19th century,” said Maj. Greg Thompson, commander of the division.

As of midday Monday, the Salvation Army already had served more than 12,500 meals, nearly 12,000 snacks, 13,500 drinks and about 5,200 additional items such as flood cleanup kits.

Emergency teams were making social service assessments in Tabor and Sidney, Iowa, on Monday. Food service operations are scheduled to begin in Hamburg, Iowa, on Wednesday, Andrews said.

Officers and volunteers are providing three meals per day in Hornick, Iowa. Volunteers also went door to door, checking on residents and offering assistance and delivered supplies Monday in Ponca, Nebraska.

In Omaha, a Kroc Center team moved through Sarpy and Douglas Counties on Sunday, serving some 900 meals and more than 1,000 drinks. The Disaster Resource Center near 84th Street and West Center Road is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In Watertown, South Dakota, the emergency team there ramped up operations Monday, providing refreshments to crews working on flood-prevention measures on the Big Sioux River. The river is expected to crest this week, Andrews said.

In Knox County, volunteers provided meals on the Santee Reservation. They also dropped off relief supplies before traveling to Columbus, Nebraska, to serve meals.

To help with the Salvation Army’s flood relief efforts, go to www.salarmyomaha.org and click on the ‘Donate Now’ button.

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