GUERNEVILLE — A week after the Russian River overflowed its banks, flooding the town of Guerneville and other waterfront communities, many residents who were hit hard by floodwaters are struggling to cope.
"People are honestly terrified," said Lynda Hopkins, the Sonoma County Supervisor who represents Guerneville, Rio Nido and Forestville. "They have nowhere to go, a lot of them are crashing at friend's houses right now, and they don't know how long that's going to last."
Many don't have anything to eat. "We literally have people who can't even afford to go the store and buy groceries at this point," said Hopkins. "So we're distributing grocery gift cards, Visa cards, just things that people can replace their basic, essential belongings."
Those grocery gift cards, while helpful to many, are somewhat useless for people who watched their refrigerators float away in the floodwaters.
"What we really need are hot meals," said Hopkins, "because people don't have the ability to cook or keep that food refrigerated."
For people willing to make a donation, Hoplins encouraged giving to the United Way of Wine Country, while she recommended the Clean River Alliance for people looking to roll up their sleeves and pitch in.
Hopkins encouraged volunteers to help out in casual, impromptu ways. Truck owners could help cart away rubbish, for instance.
There's a sizable senior population, according to Hopkins. Many are on fixed income and may lack the funds to pay for someone to haul the ruined possessions while others may be physically limited from moving the large items that simply washed up on their yards.
"I got an email from someone who literally had a piano show up in their yard, and they had no way to move that piano," Hopkins said. "What do you do when a piano shows up .. and you're in your eighties and you have no capacity to remove that debris?"
Hopkins said the state is helping to remove potentially hazardous waste, things like propane tanks, paint thinner, and various chemicals.
But it would be helpful to see volunteers with trucks and big vehicles move the ruined mattresses, big appliances and furniture that are in abundance, she said.
"We've received a lot of offers for volunteers, and we really need volunteers with trucks in particular, people who have the ability to help remove some of the flood debris from people's homes and drive it to dumpster sites that we're providing for free around the lower Russian River," Hopkins said. "If you've got a truck and a strong arm and back, we'd love to have you."
People in the area are being advised to continue to avoid coming into contact with the floodwaters. In addition to the hazards the state is helping to remove, there's plenty of other nasty stuff either left behind by the receding waters.
"There were septic system and sewage overflows in this water. It's extremely hazardous. We're encouraging people to use gloves, to cover up, wear rain jackets — try to protect yourself, try not to come into contact with the sediment and with the water," Hopkins said.
A long recovery seems likely, Hopkins said.
"I will not feel better until everyone is back in their homes and our businesses are open for business," Hopkins said. "Right now we have a lot of people out of work. They might have lost all their belongings, and they also lost their place of employment, so they have no income coming in. So people are in a world of hurt right now and they're going to need help for months."
Some people in the flood zone don't have months to wait.
"I've already heard from some people who weren't here for the last big flood, and for them, this was a real big wake up call, and they say 'I'm out, you know what, I can't take this,'" Hopkins said.
But she's hopeful as well, and has faith in the community.
"The folks who have been through this before are helping their neighbors who maybe haven't gone through this." Hopkins said. "So we're resilient. I really believe this community will stay strong, and will come back even stronger."