"water water everywhere....

So..Do you want to know what ARC girl has been up to? Or do you? Heard of those Floods in Northern Maine?? yep! We have been preparing for such an event for well over a month now...the fact that it would be a 100 year event though is not lost on this newbie to disasters that require DR #'s and telephone calls to Washington DC..because we no longer have a service center..closed the day of the flood!!

Last Wednesday the flood waters reached that 100 year event in Fort Kent and as I was driving to work, I was quickly diverted to Bangor..and with the exception of a quick drive home that same day to pick up clothing I moved up there to take over chapter disaster operations and Hillary moved up to the County. It was "hell on wheels" for a couple of days. The phones literally never stopped ringing...and at times I had my cell on one hand and a regular phone on the other. They rang through the night..and when they were not ringing we were on conference calls..the situation changed rapidly, but nothing was as telling as the calls I got...I had the Chapters phones for all flood related calls, so I would get these calls from some small town, and a person saying...I am flooded out, the roads are all closed where do I go what do I do? Some of these towns were miles from open shelters..some I could not find on maps as I talked to these people thru the night..

Thursday, the National Red Cross gave us a disaster relief number and we started to put into place the makings of an operation..unfortunately without the normal advice of a service center the process was thrown into chaos and it was one of the worst days I have ever spent!! Friday National was up and running..bare bones but none the less we had a place to put our complaints and issues...I started to deploy volunteers from the chapter Hillary meanwhile went toe to toe with the EMA directors and relief operations at the EOC!! I think she was the only woman in that building in Fort Kent!!

By Saturday we were exhausted but we knew we were both going to go home and sleep in our own beds!! She left the county and I left Bangor...
NO the phones have not stopped ringing and things are no where near normal...but we made it thru the first 72 hours and then some and even though the hassels and communications and frustrations have been immense..we haven't lost anyone yet..we are delivering the best our chapter can under the circumstances..and we did when it counted the most!! And we will continue to push forward with this relief operation and in the end will be better directors because of it...

In the mean time send chocolate, coffee and wine in care of Hillary and Gretchen
ARC Pine Tree Chapter...