Flooding Response in West Virginia

This spring, melting snow and heavy rains in some Appalachian regions caused homes to fill with nearly five feet of water and sewer systems to overflow. In Wayne County, West Virginia flooding caused extensive damage and families were forced to stay and suffer such unfortunate conditions because they had no place else to go.

As soon as Christian Appalachian Project got these reports, our disaster relief team rushed to meet the needs of our displaced brothers and sisters there. It was heartbreaking to know that the few possessions struggling Appalachian families owned had been lost or damaged. While we will never be able to replace their cherished belongings, we made sure each family had clean water, healthy food, medicine, and other necessities.

CAP provides immediate assistance to Appalachian areas sustaining damage from floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other major catastrophes. Our staff, long-term volunteers, and community volunteers provide assistance in homes and with property clean up and repair. They also distributed needed supplies. Our disaster relief program works with a variety of federal, state, and local agencies to devise and implement innovative strategies to improve disaster preparedness and assistance. These strategies address needs specific to rural areas and people, particularly children, who are traumatized by such devastating events.

The disaster relief team worked underneath one home, pulling out insulation that had extensive damage. The homeowners worked alongside the team, cleaning up the yard and tearing out the carpet inside their home. As the group joined together for prayer at the end of the day, the homeowner thanked CAP for helping. He began to cry as he told us that CAP had been the only people that had been there to help.

In another home, removing damaged drywall was the task at hand. The matriarch of the family had a stroke about 20 months ago and is disabled. Her husband is an amputee. He lost a leg a few years ago from an infection. This family was extremely thankful for the help CAP was able to offer, thanks to supporters like you. Their son and two grandsons had already taken out the flooring and furniture, and they worked with the CAP team to tear out the drywall, insulation, and tile flooring, and then sprayed for mold.

Please pray for those impacted by the flooding in West Virginia, who continue to struggle from its aftermath, as well as the CAP disaster relief team, who is dedicating their time and energy to help families in desperate need.