Young children are more aware of the world around them than adults sometimes realize. They see news broadcasts, often while sitting with their parents. They hear conversations about floods, tornadoes, mass shootings and other frightening events. Even when they do not understand every detail, they know something bad has happened.

Fred Rogers offered parents a memorable way to reassure them. He often recalled what his mother told him when he encountered frightening news as a child: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

That advice was meant for children, but adults can benefit from it, too.

During the historic flooding that struck Indiana, Hamilton County and Fishers, we did not have to look far to find the helpers.

When I attended Sunday’s news conference at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds—and later spoke individually with Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness—it was clear that every official gathered there was focused on recovery.

The magnitude of the flooding was difficult to comprehend. The White River near Noblesville crested at approximately 24.6 feet, surpassing a record set during the Great Flood of 1913. Officials were grateful that no lives were lost in Hamilton County, but they also acknowledged the extensive damage to homes, roads and other property.

There was discussion of finding temporary housing for people forced from their homes. Officials repeatedly warned residents to stay away from flooded areas. Floodwater can contain sewage, chemicals, sharp debris and other hazards. Roads and bridges beneath the water may have been washed away or structurally weakened.

The government helpers were front and center.

Fishers has developed a highly regarded water-rescue operation, and its crews were called upon to assist some of the hardest-hit communities. Fishers firefighters and other public safety personnel traveled to Pendleton and Anderson to conduct rescues, while city employees delivered supplies to Pendleton and Tipton.

Our Fishers crews left their own city to help people in neighboring communities. That is what good public safety agencies do when disaster strikes: Jurisdictional lines become less important than saving lives.

Then the emergency came home.

Flash flooding struck the Luxhaven area along Fall Creek, a neighborhood with a long history of flooding. This time, however, the situation was particularly severe. Fishers personnel rescued residents and went door to door checking homes.

As the White River continued to rise, crews contacted residents living near the river, assisted with voluntary evacuations and eventually shifted into search-and-rescue operations. The last resident was pulled from the White River Saturday afternoon. Mayor Fadness told me that no one was injured during the dozens of water rescues.

The numbers help illustrate the scope of the response. From Thursday through Saturday, Fishers emergency crews contacted residents at 85 homes, searched 34 homes and evacuated 16. They helped 27 adults, five children and 20 pets reach safety.

Those are more than statistics. Each number represents a frightened resident, a family pet, a home in danger or a public safety worker entering uncertain conditions to help someone else.

The helpers were not limited to government.

As the magnitude of the emergency became clear Thursday and Friday, I saw a remarkable number of people online asking the same questions: Can we volunteer? Where can we contribute supplies? Is there a trustworthy place to donate money? What can we do?

By Sunday, roughly 1,300 people had registered to volunteer through Noblesville Serve. The Hamilton County Community Foundation was accepting financial contributions, while the Good Samaritan Network and local churches were coordinating donations of supplies.

That is the kind of community we have.

When the need becomes clear, people close ranks. They want to help neighbors they may know well—and people they may never have met. The challenge during an emergency is not persuading people to care. It is organizing all that compassion so help reaches the right places safely and effectively.

There was another group of helpers working largely behind the scenes: the public-information and communications professionals responsible for keeping residents and the news media informed.

I must admit that keeping up with every development over the past several days was a challenge. Conditions changed quickly, sometimes by the hour. I commend the local communications professionals who answered my questions as soon as they could and regularly posted verified information on social media. Their work allowed me to consolidate information from official sources and share it with readers in real time.

Accurate information is also a form of emergency assistance. It tells people where to find shelter, which roads to avoid and how to help without creating another hazard.

I will soon celebrate my 75th birthday, so it goes without saying that I am not as young as I once was. Covering a fast-moving emergency over several days can be exhausting. But moments such as this remind me why local news matters.

Over the past few days, this website set new records for readership. People were searching for information about their streets, their neighborhoods, their city and their neighbors. National news cannot provide that level of detail. Local news can.

To those visiting LarryInFishers for the first time, welcome. I am only sorry that a flooding emergency brought you here.

I have been covering Fishers for 15 years, and if my health holds out, I intend to continue for some years to come.

Thank you to the first responders, rescue crews, public employees, nonprofit organizations, communications professionals, volunteers and ordinary citizens who came together when they were needed most.

Fred Rogers told us to look for the helpers.

During this flood, we found them everywhere.

It makes me proud to be part of the Fishers community.

Thanks for reading.