In response, Mayor Dunn deputized 50 citizens to protect houses in the Maple and Pleasant Street sections of town. The patrol was assigned 20 boats to accomplish the task, and only residents and persons with official business were permitted to be in the area. Response and Relief Efforts At the national level, President Roosevelt mobilized federal agencies and the American Red Cross to provide immediate aid to impacted areas. He also issued a blanket authorization for the use of WPA workers in flood zones. By March 20, 38,000 families from 11 states had been forced to flee their homes, and the Red Cross was seeking to raise three million dollars for the necessary relief fund. According to historian Joseph L. Arnold, "In Massachusetts, where scores of large cities and small towns were pounded by water and huge chunks of ice, 56,000 people sought Red Cross aid." The Hampshire County chapter of the American Red Cross was enlisted to raise $2,000 toward the three million dollar fund; however, it was soon after determined that the chapter would need "at least three or four thousand dollars over the $2000 quota stipulated by the national Red Cross… because of the acuteness of flood distress in this vicinity." The flood created 3,000 refugees from Hatfield and the lower parts of Northampton. Along with the Red Cross of Hampshire, the American Legion and numerous other organizations and private individuals extended aid to people left homeless by the flood. References External links Mill River at Northampton hydrograph (National Weather Service) Rivers of Hampshire County, Massachusetts Dam failures in the United States Disasters in Massachusetts Tributaries of the Connecticut River Rivers of Massachusetts