It's a necessity this weekend for hundreds of people in potential flood areas near the Missouri River.
More than 750 volunteer sandbaggers waited in line Saturday outside the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The line extended far into the parking lot, weaving in between cars.
They waited so they could do their part to help secure the city against imminent floodwaters.
“This is just utterly amazing, beyond explanation,” Fire Chief Alan Byers said of the turnout.
Byers said the original goal of filling 100,000 sandbags was bumped to 165,000 when far more than the expected 50 to 100 people showed up.
By 3:30 p.m., when everyone had finished, they had filled 210,000 sandbags.
They weren't alone Saturday.
At the Cargill plant in Blair, Neb., hundreds of employees, contractors a
nd volunteers filled sandbags to place on top of a 5-foot-tall berm being built around the facility. They also filled 50,000 bags for nearby Modale, Iowa.
In South Sioux City, Neb., volunteers filled sandbags for their neighbors.
And there will be more such work this week. Bellevue will launch a sandbagging effort Monday morning. City officials there say they've been overwhelmed by the public response.
They waited so they could do their part to help secure the city against imminent floodwaters.
“This is just utterly amazing, beyond explanation,” Fire Chief Alan Byers said of the turnout.
Byers said the original goal of filling 100,000 sandbags was bumped to 165,000 when far more than the expected 50 to 100 people showed up.
By 3:30 p.m., when everyone had finished, they had filled 210,000 sandbags.
They weren't alone Saturday.
At the Cargill plant in Blair, Neb., hundreds of employees, contractors a
nd volunteers filled sandbags to place on top of a 5-foot-tall berm being built around the facility. They also filled 50,000 bags for nearby Modale, Iowa.
In South Sioux City, Neb., volunteers filled sandbags for their neighbors.
And there will be more such work this week. Bellevue will launch a sandbagging effort Monday morning. City officials there say they've been overwhelmed by the public response.
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