As concern ebbed with the receding waters of the Allegheny River this week, those who helped residents of Etna prepare for a possible disaster were left with feelings of kinship, mixed with relief.

Angie Bagwell, a Shaler Area High School junior, was among more than three dozen students who helped residents fill sandbags and move furniture and appliances to higher ground Friday. She has already signed up to put things back in place.

"It was definitely a life-changing experience," the Shaler teenager said. "Just seeing the looks of their faces made me realize how flooding affected them in the past. I've fortunately never had to deal with a flood in my own house, so being able to help other people in my community was a great feeling."

Like Angie, Katie Wozniak, is a member of the high school's Student Action Team. The team was formed last year as part of the Volunteers of America, a nonprofit human services organization.

The Student Action group has helped raise money for Haiti's earthquake victims, organized food drives and worked with children at the Volunteers of America building. "I'm glad we went down there because they could have lost a lot of valuable things," she said.

Katie, who also lives in Shaler, is a junior and will graduate a year early in June.

She was one of nine Action Team members who formed assembly lines Friday, handing off the possessions of people who had faced this threat before. Many had lost everything to floods that resulted from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, when Katie and her classmates were in elementary school.

The students started at the Etna borough building, delivered there by school bus and accompanied by high school teachers: Nicole Udanis and Amanda Wetzel. Ms. Udanis is a math teacher and girls' volleyball coach, and Ms. Wetzel is a social studies teacher and staff liaison with the Student Action Team. Also part of the crew was new assistant superintendent Wes Shipley.

A plan to help residents in the flood plain move their belongings out of basements was launched when Etna Police Chief Bill Grover contacted Shaler Area School District superintendent Donald Lee.

"We knew they were very anxious about the forecast and the possibility of flooding. [Borough police and officials] know the people down on Cherry, Sycamore and Railroad streets would be the first affected and they were just looking for a way to get people to help," Dr. Lee said.

He turned the matter over to high school principal Timothy Royall, who recruited Ms. Wetzel. She gathered the members of the Student Action Team, then opened the opportunity to all the Shaler Area High School students through an afternoon announcement.

On Friday morning 38 students gathered, permission slips in hand, to board the bus.

Once in Etna, the Rev. Donn Ed, of First Congregational Church and executive director of Hosanna Industries, met the students; he and his crew of volunteer contractors divided the youngsters into groups of five to supervise them as they fulfilled various roles.

The teenagers worked until 2 p.m., filling sandbags at the borough building and helping residents move valuables to higher ground. They were joined by four volunteers from the Etna Fire Department.

Mary Ellen Ramage, Etna borough manager, said the residents are grateful to Mother Nature for the receding waters, but even more grateful to the students for their hard work. She said the borough has many people who would need help lifting heavy appliances and furniture because of age, infirmities or because they live alone.

She knows what can happen in a flood. During Hurricane Ivan, 7 feet of water filled the lower level of the borough building. "We lost everything." she recalled. "Having Hosanna help us out by supervising their volunteers as well as the students was really inspirational," she added.

Ms. Ramage said Rev. Ed contacted her as soon as flooding was predicted. "He asked, 'What can Hosanna do to help out?' "

The work of the volunteers freed up borough police and employees to deal with other aspects of the potential emergency, she said.

Etna's emergency radio station released news of expected crest levels of the Allegheny River throughout the event.

As of Tuesday, there was no flooding, "for which we are very grateful," Ms. Ramage added.

The flood warning for the community was expected to be lifted yesterday.

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