Staff Writer
With President Bush’s signature on a major disaster declaration for Aroostook County, relief workers are striving to reach as many victims as possible to alert them to the financial assistance for which they may be eligible.
Aroostook Republican photo/Debra Walsh
A group of American Red Cross volunteers from around the country check their assignments on Friday before leaving in one of the Emergency Response Vehicles to offer assistance to flood victims. More than 80 ARC-affiliated volunteers and staff are involved in the relief effort after the April 30 floods. From left are Morris Monica of New York, Cheri Lundblad of Vermont, Charles Meder of New York, James Bransfield of East Madison, and Janet Kephart of Pennsylvania.
Disaster recovery centers have opened in Fort Kent and Van Buren, according to Vern Ouellette, director of the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency.
At the same time, officials are considering operating a mobile disaster recovery center to travel through flood stricken areas to help victims register for assistance, said Kevin Galvin, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Victims can receive help in filling out application forms and other documents which could help them, Galvin said.
The presidential declaration is for houses and businesses damaged by flood waters throughout Aroostook County, explained Maine Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Lynette Miller.
Officials are awaiting word on a second declaration to help municipalities recover from infrastructure damage. Initially, a preliminary estimate of $727,304, which included damages and cost of responding to the flooding, was used to file for the second request.
Officials from FEMA and its state counterpart, the Maine Emergency Management Agency, as well as the American Red Cross are continuing to make daily and personal contact with the flood victims in the St. John Valley, in southern Aroostook County and in the western areas between Portage and Masardis.
In addition, the federal Small Business Administration has sent workers to offer assistance in applying for help.
Officials with the various agencies anticipate being in the area to provide relief efforts for the next several weeks. Already 60 applications have been processed in the Fort Kent office, according to Galvin.
The disaster centers will be open for at least 60 days, added the Boston-area FEMA official.
“We’ll stay as long as we feel we’re needed,” said Galvin.
Assistance associated with a presidential declaration comes in the form of grants or low interest SBA loans. The loans are also available for uninsured damage or economic injury for businesses.
Officials are urging flood victims to either visit a recovery center, call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 or apply at www.fema.gov, even though they may have already called the 2-1-1 system or spoken with the Red Cross.
“Mainers helped us learn where assistance was needed by reporting damage to the 2-1-1 call center,” said Ginnie Ricker, state coordinating officer for MEMA. “But residents must now contact FEMA to receive the full complement of disaster aid.”
Meanwhile, the Red Cross moved its operations from the Caribou Motor Inn to the Loring Commerce Center’s former base library.
“Because the scope of work became more than we had anticipated, headquarters moved … on Saturday in order to establish a better communications system,” said Joyce Knorr of the Caribou ARC office, speaking Monday to the Caribou City Council.
“We had maxed out the wireless systems at the Caribou Inn and needed a bigger space to operate, one that had the necessary infrastructure in place to accommodate the technology needed for the next several weeks,” Knorr said.
Since the flooding, Red Cross staff and volunteers has provided more than 1,000 hot meals and more than 1,500 snacks. During the first few days, two Emergency Response Vehicle teams canvassed the stricken area handing out food, water and comfort kits, which contained personal hygiene items.
A national Red Cross team arrived last week and more than 80 volunteer from 14 states are working in the relief effort, Knorr said.
Knorr personally thanked two Caribou City Council members for their direct involvement in the effort. Karla Bell has worked as a volunteer in the local Red Cross office, answering phone calls and directing victims toward sources of assistance. Ken Murchison, a geographic information system specialist, provided maps for the relief effort.
“Many of us have worked continuously for two weeks straight, with little sleep,” Knorr told the council. “However it’s the passion of helping others recover that is the driving force behind what the Red Cross is all about. Teams are beginning to rotate as other Red Cross workers are being brought into the county.”
To support the relief effort several businesses and more than 200 people have donated to the Red Cross, according to ARC spokesperson, Michael Sirota.
Katahdin Trust Co. augmented a $10,000 corporate gift by matching its employees’ donations and collecting gifts from the public at its 14 branches. Marden’s in Madawaska donated a $5,000 gift card and store employees received cash gifts from more than 100 shoppers, according to Sirota.
Time Warner Cable made a cash gift of $2,500 and invited its more than 1,000 employees to make a donation. WAGM-TV added to its $1,000 donation by producing a public service announcement regarding assistance sources.
Donations can be made to the Red Cross through its Web site at www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-REDCROSS. Contributions to the disaster relief fund may be sent to the local office at 111 High Street, Suite 2, Caribou, Maine 04736 or by credit card by calling 493-4620.
Aroostook Republican photo/Debra Walsh
American Red Cross volunteers, Jerry Sirk of Michigan, left, and Bob Schiefele of New Hampshire, man computers Friday at the agency relief headquarters at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. The agency moved from Caribou to the former library at the Loring Commerce Centre on Saturday in order to have more room. According to local ARC officials, the relief effort is growing.
Aroostook Republican photo/Debra WalshJoan Smith, left, an American Red Cross volunteer from New Jersey, looks over a map of Aroostook County, which suffered serious flooding last month, with Jim Dufresne, a disaster consultant from Portland at the ARC releif headquarters at the Caribou Motor Inn. About 80 ARC volunteers and staff from more than a dozen states are involved in the disaster relief effort under way throughout Aroostook County. President Bush has declared the region a disaster area, which opens up federal coffers for low interest loans and grants.
