A massive clean up effort is underway in the Hudson Valley from this weekend's storms, which destroyed homes and roads across the region and prompted area residents to help with the rescue and recovery.

The American Red Cross set up a shelter in Highland Falls to assist displaced people and those needing supplies in one of the hardest hit areas. It was pretty busy at the Sacred Heart of Jesus School as vehicles rolled through in need of water and supplies.

Many homes were flooded out.

James Temple, regional mass care and response specialist for the American Red Cross, said it had seen about 100 people a day since opening overnight between Sunday and Monday. It takes a lot to get a shelter like this one organized, and the Red Cross was getting by with a little help from a young group of volunteers.

Marilyn Wolf is an 11-year-old Highland Falls resident. When the Red Cross opened a shelter at the church she attends, Wolf knew she needed to get to work.

“It feels good because it feels like I’m helping out a lot, and I want to put myself to work,” Wolf said.

Wolf and the other children assisting were doing what they could to help by packing supply and snack bags, serving meals and organizing donations.

“Last night, I was about to leave, but then there's so many people that came. I didn't want to go because I didn't want to leave so many people here,” Wolf said.

Temple said setting up a shelter like this one takes a lot of planning. This is something they do drills to prepare for. Ninety percent of American Red Cross workers are volunteers.

Spectrum News 1

“The community here has been very great and very willing to assist everybody around. As you can see, they're a very, very close-knit community,” Temple said. “There are a lot of partners who have jumped right in to immediately support, which has been an amazing thing for us, and it makes the job a whole lot easier.”

Some of the volunteers have dealt with flooding at their own homes, including Wolf’s family.

“Since I have five of other siblings, all hands were on deck, and we were all helping out,” Wolf said. “My mom carried up 10 five gallons of water.”

She said their home is mostly cleaned up now, which encouraged her and her family to give back to those also dealing with damage. Wolf said everyone appreciates their hard work.

“They always thank me and say, ‘God bless you,’” Wolf said.

Along with drive up assistance, the Red Cross shelter is designed to house people with cots, food, water and other supplies, as well as health and mental health services.

Temple said they’ll remain open for an undetermined amount of time. If anyone is interested in donating, organizers said the shelter is constantly in need of cases of water.