Two Fredericksburg residents have spent the past week finding their way around flooded New Jersey streets.
Red Cross volunteers Tony and Marty Catanese arrived in Passaic County on Wednesday, assessing damage from a nor'easter that dumped 8 inches of rain on the state.
According to a Red Cross press release, volunteers opened shelters April 15 for hundreds of people who had to evacuate their homes in several states.
The Cataneses came later to assess damage from the storm.
They are retired professors who moved to Fredericksburg four years ago from Indiana.
"We wanted to do something useful when we retired," Marty Catanese said.
So they volunteered with the Rappahannock Area Red Cross, becoming part of the Disaster Action Team.
The Cataneses assessed local damage after Hurricane Isabel and help families
In New Jersey, they are trying to determine which areas have been hardest hit by the storm. On Friday, Marty Catanese said the water is receding and people are coming back to check out the damage.
They're in shock, she said, but shootings earlier in the week at Virginia Tech gave them a sense of perspective.
"They've lost a lot of their things, but they're all alive," she said.
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973