CROOKSTON, MINN.

Fully a third of the population of East Grand Forks passed through the doors of the new Crookston Senior High School Saturday and Sunday, seeking shelter, clothing and other necessities.

The Crookston Emergency Operations Center took charge of registering and aiding hundreds of families leaving East Grand Forks after Mayor Lynn Stauss issued a mandatory evacuation order Saturday afternoon. More than 2,500 people had registered at the school, just off U.S. Highway 2 west, by Sunday morning.

Officials believed that as many as 1,500 had passed through the high school doors without registering. Emergency managers urged evacuees to check in at the school on arrival and departure, even when staying at private homes.

"So many family and friends are looking for these people," said Kim Feiro, a volunteer at the high school. In many cases parents are separated from children and husbands separated from wives. Feiro knew of thirteen children staying with their grandparents in Solway, Minn. The grandparents didn't know where the children's parents were.

A woman from the Grand Forks Air Force Base was separated from her husband. "She called six times. She needed her husband. Finally she found him, thank goodness," Feiro said.

Six phone operators stayed constantly busy Sunday starting at about 3 a.m., fielding calls from people seeking family members. "They've lost everything else, so they have to hold on to each other," Feiro said. Half of the people who called the school yesterday were connected with their loved ones.

Many evacuees have arrived at the high school with little more than the clothes on their backs. Crookston volunteers have provided blankets, pillows, towels, clothing, and toiletries. From the high school the evacuees are sent to shelters at 12 local churches, two public schools and at the University of Minnesota in Crookston.

Volunteers have jumped to the calls for help. Feiro said that when requests for bedding or food go out over KROX 1260 radio, the townspeople respond within minutes. Four people respond to every call for one volunteer, she said.In the shelters, families formed clusters in rooms of 80 or more beds. Sunday school classrooms were converted to single family dwellings when available.

Every flood victim at the high school and the shelters is surviving the same crisis, but each individual's situation is unique.

Frailan Narvaiz Jr., moved to East Grand Forks from Texas just two months ago. He and his family of 10, who were evacuated Friday from their 5th Ave NE apartment, have found shelter at the University of Minnesota, Crookston. While he has never seen a disaster of this magnitude, the flood has not frightened him away.

"We'll have to wait and see what's going to happen," said Narvaiz, adding that he would not leave his new job.

Another large family was sent to the Crookston Cathedral, where refugees fill two large rooms, a few smaller rooms and a hallway. Chris Rodriguez, with her five children and a grandchild, occupy a small collection of cots in the community room of the Cathedral.

"I woke up with sore muscles, but we'll get used to it, I guess," Rodriguez said. "They're being very patient and they've helped out a lot," she said of the Crookston community that has donated the clothes, diapers and milk she has needed.

Jan Hangsleben, who has two of her children with her and three on the other side of the river, has "never seen anything like this." "We've got a few clothes and that's all," she said, headed for the piles of donated clothes at the high school.

Hangsleben appreciates all the community is doing to help. She said a few teen-agers have entertained her son for hours playing basketball. And workers at Salem motors who fixed her car, which barely made the trip to Crookston, fed her family a full breakfast.

"That means a lot," Hangsleben said.

Omar and LaVern Syrstad came to the high school looking for a ride to Minneapolis to stay with their son. Less than 60 seconds after a call to KROX, a Climax resident phoned to offer a ride.

"We feel relieved now that we're out of it, we don't have to look out the window at that river," Omar Syrstad said.