RESERVIST AT FEMA WORKS ON PROBLEMS

When people tell Connie Jo Gilmore their flood troubles, she knows only too well what they're talking about.

Gilmore works for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but until last April she was an Iowa farm wife with crops to put in. Then the rains came and wouldn't stop. Even though Gilmore's house is on a hill away from any river, seep water began filling the family's basement.

"I looked at all of my stuff in our basement and said there's no way of moving all the stuff out. The drain kept up but it was pouring in as fast as if it had been an open faucet," she said.

The drain field next to the family's house began filling up and became a rushing rapid that tore up the road to their house. It also damaged their crops. The family has hail and wind insurance but never expected to need the flood variety.

Gilmore, a FEMA reservist called out when a disaster strikes, was sent to Southeast Missouri last week to talk personally to flood victims who might be dissatisfied with FEMA's answers to their questions.

"Some people try and call the hotline. We felt they didn't feel secure about getting a response," she said.

Gilmore was dispatched to Southeast Missouri to find the people in city halls, courthouses and police departments whom flood victims might have turned to with their problems.

Unlike the quick response required after a hurricane or tornado, the flood has created unique problems for victims and disaster workers alike due to its longevity. The determination of losses and damage has had to wait until the floodwaters have receded far enough.

"I'm being sent out here because of all the long, drawn-out situations," Gilmore said. "People felt they had been forgotten but they hadn't."

In Cape Girardeau last week, her job went smoothly because she ran into Bettie Knoll, a special officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department. For many flood victims, Knoll has acted as a lifeline to receiving help with moving sandbags and receiving aid.

Knoll escorted Gilmore through the neighborhoods and directly to some people who are having particular problems. Some who had been through the river's earlier crest didn't realize they needed to have their damage verified once again after the final crest.

"Naturally, when people don't have disasters every day they didn't know it would take another contact with a verifier," Gilmore said.

She found one flood victim who hadn't yet turned in any application.

"I handled the situations the best I could and wrote it up," she said. She thinks she has been able to expedite matters for some of the people she talked to.

Gilmore said she spoke to fewer than 100 people in less than a week here, and didn't encounter much of the anger that can result when people are frustrated.

"I didn't find a lot of Cape Girardeau, but that's one of the psychological stages of loss," she said.

"...They have to vent their anger at someone...You can't get mad at the hurricane or flood or your neighbor."

Gilmore also has been visiting other towns in Southeast Missouri. In one she was confronted by a man she thought capable of violence. "Basically he didn't hear what he wanted to hear," she said.

"In this materialistic society, some people have become irrational and greedy about the money available from FEMA," she said.

Knoll said Gilmore has been able to help people in ways other FEMA workers haven't. "She is different from every one else. They gave us 800 numbers."

She said the people doing jobs like Gilmore find themselves in situations at least similar to flood victims'. "They also are displaced persons. They come to new areas to help other people, and they also are under an incredible amount of stress."

Knoll called her "the lady with all the answers."

Some in Cape Girardeau still are unhappy with Gilmore's employer.

"I personally think (FEMA) is a big joke," said Ron Probst, 1332 N. Water St. "Instead of coming in to help people in our area they give us paperwork."

Evelyn Cunningham, who lives at 1425 Grand St., said FEMA has only helped her family by reimbursing them for their flood-related costs. "I think they've done really well."

Melina A. Mara contributed information to this article.