Your browser doesn't support audio playback.
Six days after torrential rains flooded north central West Virginia, the cleanup efforts continue – with the help of scores of volunteers.
The town of Weston, with a population of just under 4,000, was one of the hardest hit areas – flash floods came at a pace Mayor Kim Harrison said is unprecedented.
“It came about so much quicker and impacted so many people, people that have never been flooded before,” Harrison said.
Almost immediately afterwards, she said the town was flooded in a very different way: with thousands of volunteers coming to help.
“We’ve got stations set up all over town that are manned by volunteers. Church groups have gone door to door offering assistance with cleanup. It’s just amazing,” she said.
Among the groups that have stepped up: scouts, in Fayette County for their annual national Jamboree. Gordon Shattles with Scouting America said they create hygiene kits and flood buckets for those faced with natural disasters every year. This year, the kits were urgently needed.
“For the flood buckets, it’s a five-gallon bucket with cleaning supplies, gloves, tarps, everything people need there as they start cleaning up after this disaster,” Shattles said.
More than 25-hundred kits along with non-perishable MREs, or meals-ready-to-eat, were delivered to the National Guard over the weekend for distribution to flood victims. The Guard is one organization among the many groups -- nonprofits, churches and thousand of individuals -- who’ve come in to help.
Weston’s Mayor Harrison says her town will be recovering for a long time to come.
“Cheesy as it sounds, this disaster is the best tourism commercial for Weston and Lewis County that you could possibly ever get, because people always look for a community where you’re family and where everyone helps one another, and I’ve seen that in spades from the first moment of rainfall,” Harrison said. “Why wouldn’t you want to live here? Because really, we honestly do look out for one another.”
West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner formally requested that business owners across 12 counties in central West Virginia provide assistance and resources to flood recovery efforts in Central West Virginia.
In a press release and email distributed directly to business owners, he said there is an immediate need for qualified contractors, skilled tradespeople, equipment, supplies, and volunteers to assist with cleanup and rebuilding efforts.
Warner said any resources, services, financial support, or other assistance a business or organization is able to donate would be sincerely appreciated by the affected communities.
Those interested in helping are asked to contact local emergency management agencies:
- Lewis-Gilmer E-911 Center
- 304-269-8235
- Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
- 304-472-4983
Additionally, diapers, feminine hygiene products, box fans, and extension cords are especially needed in Upshur County and may be donated to:
- West Virginia Wesleyan College
- 151 Cebe Ross Drive
Buckhannon, West Virginia
- 151 Cebe Ross Drive