Good luck with the recovery work, and don't feel bad that you weren't living in a run-off chute. This spring, when severe floods hit my city, the response was overwhelming. The mayor asked for a few hundred volunteers and nearly 10,000 showed up. The only ones who never got any sleep were people like the Fire Commissioner, since he's in charge of most of the Emergency operations.

Still, there is always that sobering time after the adrenaline wears off, and the basement is torn out, when the realization hits of exactly how much is left to rebuild, and how much one has had to let go. That's when most people really need that strong support.