By Dan Dowling, Regional Communications Manager

“The power went out, and I can only compare it to the movie ‘Titanic.’ You just knew it was final.”

Frances Bradford and her husband have lived in a first-floor apartment in Mexico, Maine since 2017. They had never seen the Swift River behind their building flood like that before.

A powerful December storm brought heavy rain across Northern New England. The storm brought over six inches of rain to parts of Maine. The rain combined with the snowmelt, created devastating flooding conditions that prompted numerous flood warnings across the region, just a week before Christmas.

“It was raining, and we knew we were in a Flood Watch. We don't have any family and we don't have any friends up here. We had to stay put because we knew we didn't have anywhere to go,” said Bradford.

The river continued to rise until they realized they needed to get to higher ground.

“We had no idea how deep the water around us was. We were surrounded by water, but our yard was still dry and much in front of the house was still dry. I went outside and I saw the water coming in front of us in the street and that was scary,” explained Bradford.

She and her husband started to move what they could away from the rising water.

“I went back in the house and started putting stuff up high that we couldn't afford to replace,” she said.

Bradford, her husband and their two cats were evacuated by boat and relocated to the Red Cross shelter.

“It was really weird because our cats have never seen that much water in their lives,” she said.

At the shelter, Bradford was able to find a warm, dry place to stay. She was appreciative of the kindness of the Red Cross volunteers.

“I walked around to individual Red Cross workers thanking them for their help. I have been so grateful for the fact that people have been there to help because I don't know where we'd be without them.”

The Red Cross responds to a disaster every eight minutes, and our volunteers are always ready to help those in need. Since 2019, we’ve seen a six-fold increase in the annual number of disasters causing $1 billion or more in damage, compared to 40 years ago. This relentless pace of severe disasters has created more ongoing emergency needs — including for families who have been displaced year after year by extreme weather.

After two nights at the shelter, Bradford was able to arrange a new place to stay with her landlord while water damage in her apartment is fixed. She is thankful that she and her husband, along with her cats, will have a place to stay this Christmas.

“There's so much gratitude in my heart, for the beautiful people out there that have been there to extend a hand,” she said.”

All Red Cross assistance is provided free of charge and made possible by the generosity of the public. To donate to Red Cross Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters big and small, visit www.redcross.org.