Mamie Martin, center, speaks to FEMA Corp volunteers Coralis Rodriquez, left, from Puerto Rico, and Erin Peterson, from Jacksonville, Fla., as well as Renee Bafalis, media relations with FEMA, at her home in Rainelle on Tuesday.
RAINELLE, W.Va. — Pairs of FEMA volunteers clad in blue T-shirts and black pants fanned out over town Tuesday, knocking on doors, handing out fliers and making sure flood survivors knew how and where to register for help.
Rainelle has the look, the smell and the sounds of a town in recovery mode. Along with household and business contents, drywall, insulation and ductwork lay on sidewalks, the aroma of bleach and other cleaning agents waft through the air over the other smells of mud and mold, and the beeping of dump trucks loaded with debris backing up streets mixes in with the traffic, now returning to normal nearly three weeks after a devastating flash flood that took lives, property and the sense of security from many residents.
Coralis Rodriguez and Erin Peterson walked down Fifth Street to talk to residents, most of whom had already registered with FEMA.
Double-checking, though, is part of the job.
Rodriguez signed up for the volunteer job when she heard about it on the news in Puerto Rico…
