As Schoharie County struggled to recover from Irene's wrath, all hands were on board, some to help friends, some to put out the rumors spreading like wildfire, some to start working toward recovery.
Alan Danforth was one of the first.
Learning that David and Jason Lloyds' Maple Downs Farm needed help, he headed down into Middleburgh to see what he could do.
"They milked at noon on Sunday, then herded the cows to a hillside, out of danger," Mr. Danforth said as he waited in traffic barred from I-88 at the end of Mineral Springs Road, Cobleskill.
"The only guys they're letting down are the cattle haulers to bring the cows back up to other farms."
Mr. Danforth said he'd heard that the Lloyds had to be rescued from the second-floor of the barn, but cautioned that like so much other "news," with phones and internet down, he wasn't sure if it was even true.
Not true were rumors as late as 3pm Monday that the Gilboa Dam had failed.
"Schoharie County Emergency Management and Harold Vroman would like to dispel rumors that there has been any failure of the Gilboa Dam," read an EMO press release issued late in the afternoon.
"NYCDEP and Schoharie County of Emergency Services have been in contact and reports received that conditions are improving."
That, after the scanner reported someone in a "military vehicle" driving around, claiming the dam had failed.
Rumored, but sadly true, was that the VanAller farm on Clauverwie Road lost all of its cows in the flooding, said Karen Miller, public information officer for Schoharie County for the flood.
Other livestock and the feed they needed for the winter was also washed away.
Also true: That the Blenheim Covered bridge washed away Sunday afternoon or evening and that in Esperance, there were homes-one each-washed onto Routes 20 and 30.
Ms. Miller said late Monday that no fatalities had been reported as a result of flooding, more than two dozen roads and bridges-nine of the bridges destroyed--had been closed, waiting either repairs or inspections.
Ms. Miller answered questions at the Department of Transportation building on Mineral Springs Road, Cobleskill, a beehive of federal, state, county, and local emergency volunteers and experts Monday.
Tuesday, that command post was moved to the Cobleskill Fairgrounds where there was more space.
Schoharie County was part of President Obama's Presidential Disaster Declaration, Ms. Miller said, which will ease federal and state aid and assistance.
It also opened the door to National Guard units and others who were on the scene to lend a hand; the old Guilford Mills housed fire and rescue volunteers from across the state overnight Sunday.
Tom Wutz, an incident commander for the state Office of Fire Protection and Control, was one of those called in to help; his team has experience with a half-dozen hurricanes, including Katrina.
"The federal designation opens the checkbook," he said.
Mr. Wutz said his team's role is to assist local officials; they helped bring in helicopters for a birds'-eye view and will be helping to determine which homes are inhabitable, and then in removing debris.
Their typical stay, he said, is about two weeks.
Clean-up, clearly, will take much longer than that.
County Treasurer Bill Cherry pointed out that with Schoharie's County Office Building, they'll need to find a home for most of those services and a way to provide them and to recover documents-things like deeds and mortgages-covered by five or six feet of water.
"Hundreds of people in Schoharie have no place to live," he said. "We need to find a way to keep this community viable."