The first nasty surprise for Paul and Julie Arsenault came on Mother's Day, as the couple helplessly watched flood waters from the nearby Ipswich River seep into the sprawling 4,700-square-foot Colonial they share with Julie's mother in Middleton. By day's end, the entire first floor was covered with nearly 2 feet of water.

The second surprise came in the mail late last week, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency made good on its promise to send aid. The family got a check for $5,400 -- the maximum repair grant. The trouble is, they've sustained about $85,000 in losses, and no local or state agency, or even their insurance company, has offered any further compensation.

``We were shocked," said Paul Arsenault, 37. ``We thought `FEMA is coming, they're going to save us,' but we didn't get a thing. Our home is in my mother-in-law's name. She got the check. My wife and I, we were told we're ineligible for any aid."

According to Arsenault, ``that $5,400 is supposed to help with home repairs -- the floors, the heating system, and the air conditioning unit -- but $5,400 doesn't cover all of that. It might cover the air conditioning, but how do I pay for everything else? It's very frustrating."

And the family's frustrations grow each time it rains, Arsenault said last week, during the latest downpour. ``It's a nightmare," he said. ``We clean up and then the basement gets wet again. It seems like our sump pump is always running. We thought we'd have things back to normal by now, but we're not any closer to making repairs."

Throughout the northern suburbs, hundreds of harried homeowners who were devastated by last month's torrential flooding are learning there are limits to what the federal government can do for them. And in many cases, the FEMA grants fall far short of what they need to get back on their feet.

``The hardest part of this is, in many respects, that it's going to be impossible to make everybody whole," said Senator Thomas M. McGee, a Lynn Democrat and Senate chairman of the 37-member Northeast Legislative Caucus, a group that encompasses lawmakers from the North Shore and the Merrimack Valley. ``The amount of money that's available from the federal government is limited, and certainly the state doesn't have the resources to do that."

To date, 5,500 people in the state's hardest hit areas have filed applications for federal assistance, according to Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Roughly 5,200 of those applications have been approved, which will translate into about $7.7 million in aid, he said. According to Brian Hvinden, a FEMA spokesman, the agency is focusing on homeowners who must complete emergency repairs to make their homes safe. Funds are also being provided to people who need money to pay rent because they were forced to leave their homes.

In an effort to fill the gaps in local need, the Northeast Legislative Caucus is trying to establish a special committee to study the issues that have arisen as a result of the extraordinary rain and flooding in the North Shore and Merrimack Valley, McGee said. President Bush declared the flood-stricken regions disaster areas on May 25, making federal funds available to affected families throughout Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties.

The caucus is holding a regional flood recovery forum this evening at North Shore Community College in Danvers. The event begins at 7 o'clock in the lecture hall at the Health Professions Building and offers storm victims an opportunity to meet with local legislators and representatives from MEMA, the US Small Business Association, the Executive Office of Economic Development, and other state agencies.

``We're trying to find out what needs are out there that we can address through a legislative package," said Meaghan Duff, spokeswoman for Gloucester Republican Senator Bruce E. Tarr, cochairman of the Northeast Legislative Caucus. ``We hope to develop a state package to supplement current assistance programs."

During the four-day deluge that began May 13, nearly a foot of rain fell on large swaths of the northern suburbs, flooding hundreds of homes, forcing the evacuation of scores of residents, and prompting officials to close schools and large sections of Route 1.

In the aftermath of the storm, the Arsenaults are trying to manage one crisis after another. They've dealt with the stomach-turning mess, the wet insulation, and the dank smell that permeated their home in the days after the flood. Now, they're trying to figure out how to come up with the cash they need to get their home back in order. Like countless others throughout the region, the couple has learned the hard way that a standard homeowner's insurance policy does not cover flood losses -- only national flood insurance provides such protection.

Already, they've had to borrow money from friends and relatives to pay their mortgage -- their savings was spent on the initial cleanup. Repairs will have to be done in order of priority, Arsenault said. The destroyed water pump and heating and cooling systems will be replaced right away, but the damaged hardwood floors will have to wait.

Throughout the region, thousands of families are in a similar bind. In their search for answers and federal aid, 1,719 people had by the end of last week visited one of the region's three disaster recovery centers -- in Peabody, Melrose, and Amesbury. Many said they left disappointed.

``It was just ridiculous," said a frustrated Patricia Sico-McNulty, 43, of Boxford, who visited the disaster field office at the North Shore Shopping Center in Peabody on May 26. ``The man from FEMA said to me, `I'm not really here. I wasn't supposed to be here until Tuesday, but they were short-staffed so I came in early.' I stood there and thought, `so what, then, are you just a figment of my imagination?' He wasn't able to answer my questions. He just directed me to FEMA's website."

So the next day, Sico-McNulty and her husband applied online for federal assistance in hopes of recouping some of the nearly $10,000 they had spent earlier this year to renovate their basement. A FEMA inspector came to their house last week to assess the damage: The basement, once home to a playroom, family room, and exercise area complete with sauna, has been reduced to a storage area for broken equipment. The water heater, washer, dryer, and exercise equipment were all damaged. The carpeting, furnishings, and drywall were destroyed.

On Saturday, the couple received a check for $2,847 from federal officials.

``I'm glad we got something, but how they came up with that figure is a mystery to me," said Sico-McNulty. ``It's not going to come close to covering everything that needs to be replaced."

Small business owners in the northern suburbs also are crying foul. The floods made it impossible for many shopkeepers to work. Some lost inventory, others lost tools and machinery. And FEMA doesn't compensate business losses.

``They actually wait until you're done with their interview and then they let you know they don't help businesses," said Fran Tower, who with her husband, Rick, runs a sandblasting and painting company in downtown Peabody. ``Instead, they offer to put you in touch with the SBA, so you can apply for a loan. That's not what we need -- more debt -- when we're already in trouble because of the flooding."

The Towers are already carrying a hefty mortgage on their building -- a former leather refinishing company that they purchased in 2001 and then spent three years and more than $1 million renovating. The building is home to Tower Blast & Paint Inc., and four other tenants.

``I've called City Hall and my state representatives," said Tower. ``No one knows of any assistance programs available to small business owners. The only thing we can get is low-cost loans. It doesn't seem fair that the government isn't willing to spend money on the people that have helped build this country and actually keep it going."

As area flood victims try to pick up the pieces and move on, state officials said they would have a better idea of their role in the recovery once legislation on Beacon Hill is finalized.

``We'll have some involvement, though the extent of it has yet to be determined," said Judge, the MEMA spokesman. He noted that four of MEMA's disaster recovery centers will remain open through tomorrow, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Local centers are located at the senior center in Melrose, at 201 West Foster St., and at the North Shore Shopping Center in Peabody, in the former Macy's department store. The Amesbury center closed June 1.

Residents who sustained losses may apply for assistance by registering online at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) by July 24. Residents can get up to $27,000 for repairs, although agency officials said the average is $5,000. In addition, the US Small Business Administration has made available low-cost loans for eligible flood victims, and some residents who lost work because of the floods may qualify for unemployment benefits. Alexander Reid of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Brenda J. Buote may be reached at bbuote@globe.com.

Northtalk

What responsibility does the federal government have to compensate homeowners and businesses damaged by disasters like the flood of 2006? Post at www.boston.com/northtalk. Or send a response to globenorth@globe.com or Globe North, 1 Corporate Place, Suite 200, 55 Ferncroft Road, Danvers MA 01923.