WATER DISTRICT WORKER HELPS RED CROSS AID FLOOD VICTIMS.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

While volunteering on his employer's time, Newhall resident Charles Smith got a real eye-opener in helping out flood victims in the recent devastating rains that forced levees to collapse in the Central Valley.

Smith, 48, a project manager for the Metropolitan Water District of California, was loaned to the American Red Cross for nine days in January to assess flood damage to about 250 homes in Arboga and Olivehurst, north of Sacramento.

Smith said he got more than thanks from lending a hand. He was inspired to see neighborhoods pick themselves up and continue life despite catastrophe.

``I was impressed with the resilience of these people. They were out there in rubber boots and shovels, putting their homes back together,'' Smith said. ``I guess it's the American way: People are jumping in to move forward. . . . It really made you feel good to be a part of the disaster response.''

Smith was among six MWD employees who flew to Sacramento as part of the American Red Cross relief and cleanup efforts after severe floods walloped Northern California.

The MWD program is one of the nation's first voluntary pacts between a disaster relief organization and a local government agency, said Mike Powers, a spokesman for the American Red Cross.

In preparation, the workers spent 50 hours in basic Red Cross disaster response training, including damage assessment, mass care and family services.

As a project manager at MWD, Smith designs water-supply facilities and pipelines at pump stations.

His company paid for his normal 40 hours of work each week he spent in flood relief work, but the additional 80 hours, including weekends, were on his own time.

Staying at Beale Air Force Base, Smith missed his wife and four children but had little time to yearn for the comforts of his home.

``It's a little inconvenient because you're away from your family, but that's more than offset by the ability to help out the disaster victims,'' he said.

Smith assessed the damage after the rain had stopped and people had been rescued. He drove around neighborhoods in which propane tanks and other hazardous materials were still floating. Some homes, he said, were buried under 15 to 20 feet of water after a levee collapsed just south of Marysville on Jan. 2.

He evaluated water-mark lines on the outer parts of the homes to determine who needed help first.

Some people turned down help because others were more needy, Smith said.

``I was pretty impressed to see people turning down the help, realizing that other people needed it more.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color in SAC edition only) ``I was impressed with the resilience of these people. They were out there in rubber boots and shovels, putting their homes back together.

- Charles Smith

Flood relief volunteer