RED CROSS WORKERS AID STORM VICTIMS.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

When Lisa Lawrence decided to leave the comfort of her apartment last month to help victims hit hard by Tropical Storm Frances, she got a lot more than she bargained for.

Now, the 49-year-old Red Cross veteran has tales of coursing through flooded Louisiana streets teeming with rats and snakes and even an alligator or two.

And she can regale her grandchildren with stories about how she went out to work on a tropical storm and ended up being evacuated when Hurricane Georges ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. It left in its wake the most widespread and costly disaster in American Red Cross history.

But more than the adventure of it all, Lawrence will remember the warmhearted people she met and their profound gratitude for the care shown by hundreds of Red Cross volunteers.

``The reception we got was so warm and loving,'' said Lawrence. ``It was like, `You're here! You're going to save us!' ''

After Lawrence finished tallying damage at one flooded home, the elderly resident bowed her head in prayer.

``Literally, her bed was underwater,'' recalled Lawrence. ``She asked to pray, and she stood there and cried and prayed for us, as Red Cross workers. That's the kind of thing that's payment enough for me, to know they are so deeply touched by what the Red Cross does.''

Ted McCaleb, director of disaster services for the Ventura County chapter of the Red Cross, says it doesn't really take a special breed to venture into disaster zones. Just an unquenchable desire to help.

``Believe it or not, there are people who just like helping people,'' McCaleb said. ``For some, helping people is more important than the monetary side of life. And Lisa is willing to sacrifice to do these things.''

Lawrence spent most of her three-week assignment in Harvey, a small parish in southeastern Louisiana that sits 35 feet below sea level.

Time and again, she saw where standing floodwaters had buckled interior walls and warped floors. Furniture, bedding and pretty much anything below the three-foot high-water mark was lost.

And many roofs already saturated from Tropical Storm Frances surrendered to the wrath of Hurricane Georges.

Workdays stretched 12 hours or more, and she and other volunteers typically had one day off for seven days of work.

``There's always long hours, but that's not hard for me,'' she said. ``The busier I am, the better I like it. This is a labor of love.''

During her stay, Lawrence was in good company. To date, 8,600 volunteers have served on Hurricane Georges relief operations, from Oklahoma to Florida and Puerto Rico.

``Hurricane Georges was so large and the damage so widespread that it's going to require a lot of volunteers,'' McCaleb said. ``I have about 40 people qualified to assist on national disasters. I have eight other people specialized in various disciplines who are on waiting lists to go anywhere in the South where they're needed.''

Elizabeth Andersen, a nurse from Ventura, has been in Louisiana since Sept. 15. Glen Phillips of Oxnard, another Red Cross volunteer, recently left for Puerto Rico. Disaster operations there are expected to last through November.

Red Cross officials estimate the Hurricane Georges relief effort will cost $104 million, the most expensive in the organization's history.

Although volunteers can witness overwhelming destruction, Lawrence has a way of looking for the positive, even when it's hard. When she was being evacuated as Hurricane Georges approached, she wasn't anxious. Instead, she was taken by the striking beauty as she passed through Louisiana's bayou country.

And once when she spotted an alligator eyeing her from the side of a flooded street, Lawrence was more concerned with the floodwaters than with the toothy reptile.

``He just watched the car. It was like, you stay where you're at, and I'll stay where I'm at,'' she said with a chuckle. ``He was probably more afraid of me than I was of him.''

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PHOTO (Color in Conejo Edition only) Red Cross volunteer Lisa Lawrence of Thousand Oaks, who just returned from helping victims of Tropical Storm Frances in Louisiana, says her work is a labor of love. Lawrence was among the evacuees when Hurricane Georges hit the area.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News