Floods in Idaho and Chile

During June, heavy snowmelt and rain caused Idaho’s Snake River to flood in the southeastern part of the state. Although no deaths or injuries were reported, more than 100 Latter-day Saint homes were damaged by floodwaters. Officials estimate that more than $35 million in damage was caused to roads and farmland.

“The first day we had 500 members out sandbagging the main current of the river,” reported Gerald A. Mead, president of the Pocatello Highland Stake and welfare chairman of the Pocatello region. Much of the flooding occurred in the Blackfoot area. “For about a week our people kept just inches ahead of the river. Typically we’d get 1,000 or 1,500 people out in the morning and maybe that many in the afternoon. One day we laid down five miles of sandbags.” The civil authorities were surprised to have so much done in one day.

President Mead described one nonmember’s experience with the Latter-day Saint helpers: “He stood there with tears running down his face as his house was basically saved. At one point he said, ‘I know where this help came from.’”

In Chile, severe weather resulted in flooding in eight regions, affecting more than 63,000 people. The Chile Area Presidency reported that no members or missionaries were injured, but the homes of 15 member families were destroyed and 22 member homes were seriously damaged. Damage to 26 Church meetinghouses was reported, and five meetinghouses were used as emergency shelters. Local Church leaders allocated fast-offering funds to assist members in need.

Volunteers help remove household items from an evacuated home in Firth, Idaho. (Photo by Kelton Hatch, courtesy of Idaho State Journal.)