All missionaries stayed in their apartments today. The rain has continued and waters have risen. As of 2:00 pm, most missionaries report no visible issues outside their apartments with a few reporting water in the parking lots. There is no water in apartments yet, which is good. Almost all the heavy flooding you see on the news is downtown and south, not in our mission. However, we expect some flooding overnight in our mission. Swollen creeks are ready to flood their banks. We have already moved missionaries whose apartments were in some proximity to creeks.
It will rain through the night so we are keeping an eye on it. Missionaries have access to higher ground in their apartments and all know that if water enters their apartments, they should get to the second floor. One apartment lost power about 2:00 pm. The missionaries in that apartment are fine and have flashlights and food. We will be calling them frequently but have them preserve their battery life in their phone. All missionaries have food and water. So far, all communications have stayed functional and I have talked to many missionaries today by phone. There was a rumor earlier today that the water supply was going to be shut off, but the Office of Emergency Management made it clear that was not true.
We will check in with the zone leadership tonight by 9:30 and post another update. Tomorrow is Pday so you should be able to hear from most missionaries tomorrow. However, there may be issues getting to wifi or computers. If they can't get to a computer or wifi, we will have them write emails on their tablets and send them as soon as they can get to wifi. I will tell the missionaries who may be stuck without access all day to get me a message and I can pass it along to their families. These are wonderful missionaries. We love them!
- President Peterson
