Peter Teahen Quotations

We are looking now at a disaster above any magnitude that we've seen in the United States. We've been saying that the response is going to be the largest Red Cross response in the history of the organization.

Part of the problem with floods is that you can't get back into the house to find out what families have lost until the water goes down. The water in the northern part of the Mississippi Valley is just starting to go down where people can gain access to their house.

When I think of sleeping in the car ... I remember I'm in the presence of people who have no home.

We can't tell you when food is going to be served. We don't know. We hope it will be in a couple of days.

As the water recedes there will be damage assessment. Family services go out to see what people have lost, helping to replace furniture, beds, etc.

There's just a sense of rebuilding, not abandoning. That this is where we love. 'We love being on the river and we want to stay here'; 'We're not going to move out.

This is the largest response in the history of the United States.

The nightmare we thought might happen before the hurricane hit appears to be developing.

The mental fatigue is a factor. These floods are insipid ... it takes its toll.