The couple has operated Fancy Floral for 16 years. Isaacs follows with the cash register, slamming it hard on the back of his Humvee. It's devastating to see this. As the couple get in the Humvee with Sgt. Isaacs, a blue Air Force bus arrives, packed with Falmouth residents getting their first glimpse of what the flood left behind.
Eyes are wide as people look through the bus windows, viewing their town's nightmare.
Patrick Bass and his wife, Laurie, had begun remodeling their Pendleton Street house for the baby they're expecting later this year. Bulldozers have cleared the roads of most of the mud, pushing it to the side like snow. It sits there now, two long rows of thick, dark brown slop forming a border down the street. Mayor Max Goldberg estimated that 75 percent of Falmouth's businesses are a total loss. Only three of the 30 restaurants and food establishments in the city are salvageable, said Mr. Biddle, the health department environmentalist.