National Guard Responds to Indiana Flooding

[wackychick]

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (Army News Service, June 9, 2008) - Indiana National Guard troops were activated Saturday to help residents caught in flash flooding across the state when unprecedented rainfall made the already satu***** soil unstable.

National Guard Soldiers helped evacuate residents from flooded areas, provided neighborhood security, placed sand bags around critical facilities such as hospitals and helped feed displaced citizens at temporary shelters.

One of the hardest hit areas was in Morgan County where Martinsville residents found themselves fleeing to safety from low-lying areas of the town.

During the first part of the day, Cadet Mitch Connelly, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry said he found himself in a quite different situation than he'd anticipated. His tasks included providing security with other Soldiers in the area, getting Meals Ready to Eat for Soldiers and working with a local catering service that made a temporary staging area at the armory until a high school was prepared to take the influx of people that were displaced.

The catering service, Water to Wine, relied on donations from requests put out over the radio to help feed hundreds of hungry and thirsty people in the early part of the day.

One of the partners of the company, Janene Morris, said her own home was flooded. But rather than worrying about her own needs, she instead took initiative to help others.

"What can I do?" asked Morris, "I can't do anything at home, but I can do something here."

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