CARLTON COUNTY, Minn. - If the volunteers inside the National Guard Armory in Cloquet haven't seen the flood damage yet, they've certainly heard about it over the last several hours.
Ever since officials set up the volunteer help center Saturday morning, the word has gotten out and the phone calls have been ringing constantly.
"Right now people are in shock mode. I don't think it's set in yet. They've just kind of done what they've had to do," said Jill Hatfield, the executive director of Volunteers Services in Carlton County.
Hatfield says flood victims are overwhelmed by all the damage.
"There's a huge financial piece right now, people who can't afford to purchase supplies to clean up, so we're trying to procure cleanup kits for people," she said.
Hatfield is asking for more volunteers to help with the cleanup. The county needs 25 to 50 volunteers a day to keep up with the demand for help.
We followed one of those volunteers, Tom Schaer to Donna Melin's house in Carlton.
"I've lived in Carlton and who would have ever thought that that crazy creek would have over flowed," she said to Schaer when he arrived.
So much so says the 79-year old woman that during the height of the flooding, her basement had five feet of water in it.
"Everything was floating. The freezer floated and tipped over and all the food came out. The washer and dryer were floating and that tipped over," she said.
50-some years of stuff are now in her backyard. She's not alone; everyone on her block was underwater.
"The only thing saving me is there are so many other people in the same boat as I am," she said.
And while her flood waters have receded, the kindness from volunteers, people she doesn't even know, is overflowing.
"Just one hand reaching out, one hand reaching out to help can make a big difference," said Schaer.
Volunteers looking to help with flood relief in Carlton County can call: 218-384-1112.
For more information on the volunteer effort in Duluth, visit the United Way of Greater Duluth's website: Volunteerduluth.org.
(Copyright 2012 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)