Blacksburg resident Ray Broome delivered meals recently for the American Red Cross into neighborhoods where homes have been condemned due to flood damage in the metro Atlanta area. Ray Broome trudged in the mud through neighborhoods to help feed people left homeless from the recent floods in Georgia.

The Blacksburg resident returned home Wednesday following a 2-week volunteer deployment with the American Red Cross. He spent his days traveling around neighborhoods to deliver hot meals to people left homeless in a 25-mile area around Cobb County and Austell, Ga.

“Inspectors have gone into suburbs to place yellow and red flags on $250,000 homes,” Broome said. “A yellow flag meant a man and his wife could stay inside the house without any children. A red flag means the house has been condemned and a person isn’t even allowed to open the door.”

Pictures of the wreckage taken by Broome show neighborhoods filled with condemned homes. Dump trucks in driveways are loaded with construction debris from homes which were completely underwater during the floods.

Residents were left to seek assistance from the American Red Cross and 20 other disaster relief agencies stationed in Georgia. Some churches opened their doors to assist flood victims with basic needs like food and shelter.

“This is going to be a long-term recovery,” Broome said. “People can’t go to their homes because there is no place to go.”

Broome was among 650 volunteers involved in assisting victims in the Georgia floods. He traveled in an emergency response vehicle to deliver 150 meals in neighborhoods where families needed help with basic needs like food and shelter. He delivered meals to a wheelchair-bound man as well as a woman who had recently suffered a stroke.

“We made a lot of good friends,” said Broome, referring to his encounters with the flood victims. “You felt so sorry for them. You tried to make them laugh and cheer them up. It’s kind of hard when you have lost everything you’ve got.”