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Alex Brandon / AP
National Guard, Maryland State Police, and local police work together to help a resident evacuate from Crisfield, Md., Monday. Thousands of volunteers and emergency personnel have descended on the 10-state region hit by the storm.
While everyone else was clearing out of Ocean City, Md., ahead of Superstorm Sandy, Trent Smith was heading straight toward the danger.
Smith, who traveled with a team from Indiana, was among among the hundreds of doctors, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency personnel and volunteers converging on the East Coast to help devastated areas with rescue and recovery efforts.
Smith described a nerve-wracking drive from Baltimore to Ocean City, a beachfront resort town that was expected to see widespread damage from the massive storm. It took Smith and 14 other emergency personnel more than four hours to make the 135-mile drive to the coast as they endured flooded roads and 50 mile-an-hour winds, arriving at 5 p.m., just before the storm made landfall up the coast.
"We were basically the last vehicle to come in off of the interstate before they shut it down," he said.
Smith and his team, assembled by Indiana’s Department of Homeland Security, expect to spend the coming days working long hours with little sleep, but Smith said the work will have its own rewards.
"The vast majority of people that work for (the) department do this because they have this internal feeling that 'I want to help,'" said Smith, who normally works as a public information officer for the Indiana state police. He has responded to other disasters including Hurricane Katrina.
Most people traveling to the East Coast to help with the recovery are, like Smith, part of organized groups coordinating with the American Red Cross, government agencies and other aid organizations. But some are heading out on their own, driven by a desire to help in whatever way they can.
As the Hackensack River surged over a berm, hundreds of people were forced out of their homes as the water levels overwhelmed Bergen County. NBC's Katie Tur reports.
Kristoffer Strayhorn, a volunteer firefighter from Washington state, was among those who just wanted to get to the disaster zone and see what he could do to help.
Strayhorn, 40, has family in the New Jersey area and tried to fly out earlier in the week but he was unable to make it before the region's airports were closed ahead of the storm.
He’s currently scheduled to fly out Thursday to help his family and, he hopes, others who have been affected.
Strayhorn said he feels "an obligation to go and help these people who didn’t manage to get out of the situation."
His family is in and around Carlstadt, N.J., which was hard-hit by flooding. He has heard only briefly from family members since the disaster struck, with communication hampered by power outages and widespread flooding.
Strayhorn, a volunteer firefighter in tiny Cosmopolis, Wash., said he’s never done anything like this before.
Related: Rescuing residents in flooded New Jersey
"My wife thinks I’m crazy, but at the same time she understands that I have family there," he said.
Many others were already on the road or had set up operations by Tuesday.
Watch aerials from the New Jersey State Police of the devastation from Sandy along the New Jersey Shore. Raw video.
A team of urban search and rescue personnel from Ohio, including two doctors from University of Cincinnati, were on their way to the disaster site Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the university said. They are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The American Red Cross has 1,700 disaster workers from across the country deployed to help with recovery efforts, and spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego said the agency wasn’t looking for any more volunteers at this point.
Still, she said there was plenty of other things that people can do to help.
The Red Cross is taking cash donations to help with the effort. In addition, it is looking for people who can donate blood. That’s because it had to cancel about 300 blood drives in the area due to Hurricane Sandy.
"What we really could use is blood donations," Borrego said.
Related: How you can help Sandy's victims
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- Storm seen as unlikely to delay election
- The superstorm, by the numbers
- Your images of Sandy's fury
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UPDATE: I was able to get a flight to Islip, a little airport in New York. I hope to be there as soon as I can. Hopefully others will follow lead and come together for these families devastated by this horrific disaster. My family and I pray for all the victims and their families. We have created a page on Facebook for families to connect directly with people that are willing to help in any way they can. Sometimes larger relief organizations have a hard time reaching folks in rural areas. Our page will hopefully get help to those that may be overlooked.
Good work. :) I wish I was able to but I will contribute to my utmost.
Not to dismiss the good-heartedness of volunteers, but most of the people in this story (and the accompanying photo) are being paid by their organizations (even many non-profits) while they provide relief work. That's good in that they are probably better trained, organized, and integrated with other emergency services.
Before trying to help by going to the region and further clogging their transportation and lodging, find out what is needed most, usually money. Disaster relief organizations already have connections to buy the least expensive supplies and hire repair experts, so let them handle the logistics unless they are unable to access or serve a rural area.
Thanks Jeff. I am also a photography student and hope to create a documentary on this historic storm and the people hardest hit. I will be focusing mainly on stories of heroism. I want to know what these people went through and how they were able to survive. I want to listen and share their stories. If anyone would like follow my journey, find me on Facebook under Kristoffer Strayhorn. Thanks!
Can People actually find it in their hearts to understand Government is not the enemy. It's the Governments job to look out for the betterment of it's People through Constitutional Principles. Firefighters, first responders, Cops, docters, Nurses, National Guard......... They are all hero's and will not ask you your Political preference in order to save you or not.
Thanks for the volunteering of USA. Thanks for the brave volunteers.
Good to see Goodwill from Americans. It shows people want and have the power to help others and more forward out of dire situations. We have to achieve that nationwide on economic and social levels. Yes we can.
I am so proud to live in this country.
How did this story inspire you to say something nice like this but the kids being cheered up at the hospital by the cleverly dressed window washers brought the rude out in you?
We in the DC area were "lucky" but I urge everyone to re-think their vote for Romney... do you really want someone in the White House that would privatize FEMA? God bless President Obama and those who are suffering the aftermath of this storm.
God Bless you for helping with your family in times of need. When my home was flooded out by Wilma, and it was nothing like we are seeing in NJ, my brothers came down to help me pack out the house. When I heard that, all I could do was cry. I was so thankful. Be aware that the people who went through this storm will probably need counseling. I didn't think I needed it, but I was so angry. When I finally got counseling, it was all about the storm. When I finally cried myself out at the counselors office, I felt much better. Healed, in fact. I also discovered that the flood was a blessing in disguise for my family. It took a while, but I did recognize that fact. Stay strong!
Any kind of help is a blessing, but sadly there are scammers. There are people that prey on people in distressed areas. Be careful.
There are millions of people in the affected area that will be out of work and out of shelter until things get straightened out and the water goes down. How many of those people are volunteering to help? Shouldn't all the available rooms be dedicated to those who lost homes instead of housing volunteers from other areas? I know that sounds harsh, but why is it that people who are affected by disasters never seem to volunteer to rebuild, but always want someone else to do it for them? Capable people who live there should also be pitching in to clean up and get things back on an even keel.
@ttmadison I have not been paid anything. I do not work for any organization. I am just a concerned family member and firefighter that wants to help. I don't care if I am only able to help one family. The bottom line is that we have had one of the worst natural disasters on American soil in history. It is going to take a MASSIVE effort in order to get life back to normal for 80% of these families.
I would also like to add how appalled I am at reports of hotels charging $400 a night for folks that have nowhere to turn. These hotels should be giving away rooms to people for nothing!! Makes me sick at the greed of some people.
I have cousins in all the affected areas of the US. God bless America and Americans. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. And Canadians wishing to donate can do so through the Canadian Red Cross. Please be generous.