MINOT AIR FORCE BASE - Of the 129 total personnel at Minot Air Force Base who are still displaced by the Souris River flood, 40 are military members, 19 civilian employees and 70 family members.
The flood occurred in Minot and the area more than a year ago in June 2011. That month, base officials reported a total of 1,142 airmen, civilian employees and family members were displaced.
As of mid-December, 425 total personnel, including 125 military members, were still displaced by the flood. That number has declined considerably in the past months.
Article Photos
Eloise Ogden/MDN • Currently, 28 Minot Air Force Base military members and 18 civilian employees, plus family members, are living in FEMA homes on private lots or in group sites, like these FEMA homes shown in June at the Virgil Workman Village, east of Minot. Others affiliated with the Minot base still displaced by the flood are living with friends or relatives. A total of 129 Minot AFB personnel – military members, civilian employees and family members are still displaced by the flood.
Kevin Nelson, deputy director of installation support, provided statistics, as of Aug. 13, about those who are still displaced.
- All of the displaced military and civilians are married except two military members.
- 29 military members reported their homes are nearing completion and they hope to move in by the end of November
- Of the 19 civilians, 13 plan to move back by late November.
- Of the military members and civilians, three are waiting on buyouts.
- Out of the 40 military members, 28 are living in FEMA homes on their private lots or in a group FEMA home site, as are 18 of the civilian employees. The rest are living with friends and relatives.
The military is working with the families in helping them with their plans.
After the Souris River flood, military members assigned to the Minot base could not bring their families here because of the lack of housing. Some military members of all ranks then were living in dormitories on base.
Now base officials are starting to see some easing in the apartment and other housing shortage in the area, Col. James Dawkins Jr., commander of the base's 5th Bomb Wing, told members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Military Affairs Committee at a recent meeting.
"A lot of the airmen now will bring their families with them. Before they had to keep them back at the previous station," Dawkins said.