The very geography of Appalachia lends itself to severe floods. With steep ravines, narrow valleys, abundant waterways, and rugged, mountainous terrain, it is easy to see how a swift storm can quickly cause damage. When water rushes down from the mountains and is funneled into the valleys, and with nowhere for the torrent to go, the valleys often fill faster than an open flood plain.
It was on a Tuesday when Christian Appalachian Project learned of the incredible flooding that had happened the previous evening in Johnson County, Kentucky. Cars were overturned and washed into groves of trees. Large houses were swept off their foundations. Mobile homes were perched on top of cars, and debris littered every surface. The destructive hand of the floodwaters had ruined everything it touched, coating it with a reeking film of silt and sand. The water had crumpled mobile homes like accordions, toppled trees, and eroded asphalt.
Perhaps the earth itself was the most telling, with entire hillsides washed away and creek beds sculpted into entirely new forms. The flash flood happened with such little precedent to suggest the severity of the situation that many had been caught in the crosshairs of the sweeping water before they even knew it was there. Later, after analyzing the situation, many suggested that up on the mountain debris had caused a blockage that ultimately gave way under pressure and dowsed the lower valley in a swift-moving gush. The wave of water caused a lightning fast and forceful destruction, and claimed the lives of four members of the community who were unable to escape.
CAP was ready to respond as part of the disaster cleanup almost immediately, but volunteers were prevented from entering the area because of dangerous conditions. After the situation grew safer, officials began to allow crews and volunteers into Flat Gap. As volunteers trickled in over the next few days, the level of destruction became more evident at every turn. Gullies and creeks remained full of water opaque with mud and choked with debris; although they had receded from their initial heights, their former power was obvious.
An elderly woman lost everything in her basement and her entire vegetable garden, as any produce touched by flood water is potentially contaminated with bacteria. In her basement, the floodwaters reached over five feet, causing her to lose a whole shelf of food she had already canned. That may not seem like much, but many people in Appalachia, especially the elderly, depend on gardens and canning for food during rest of the year. For some residents, the water had been little more than a nuisance — trickling into basements or ruining yards. Others lost everything. Closets of clothing, ruined; entire pantries of food, spoiled; and houses and livelihoods washed away. Despite their incredible loss, no one had forgotten how the waters rose around them in their own homes, swirling their possessions and forcing them to flee. No one had forgotten that they were lucky to be alive.
CAP volunteers worked alongside the organization, All Hands, which had set up a distribution center. Teams sorted and organized food, clothes, linens, cleaning supplies, and other emergency goods. The donation center was a godsend for community members who had been affected by the storms. People were grateful to get the food, supplies, and bottles of water they so desperately needed. Some homes had been without running water or electricity since the onset of the flood, nearly a week before. Any food stored in refrigerators or freezers had spoiled by the time power came back on. One man joked that his dogs had dined well on an entire freezer’s worth of deer meat he tossed. Losing that much food would have been a hard blow at any time, but in light of the situation it only compounded the woes of those affected by the water.
The community of Flat Gap and nearby Paintsville were dispirited by the damage brought by the flash flood, but brokenhearted at the loss of four community members. Yet, despite this incredible tragedy, an incredible solidarity among both victims and volunteers was evident as they worked together to reconstruct a sense of normalcy for the community of Flat Gap. As CAP and community volunteers moved door to door searching for anyone needing help, requests were frequently heard to visit friends, family, and neighbors who had a more dire need. The selfless nature of this group of survivors, and the way different charities wove together their services united everyone with a common goal of rebuilding what was stripped from this community.
As a longtime non-profit with an established local presence, CAP was poised to be one of the most effective responders to the situation. During that first week, CAP crews were able to complete nearly ten projects. With the assistance of other groups, CAP teams were able to speed up the cleaning process for many families and get them back on track to their normal lives. From those first raindrops falling from the sky to the bottles of clean water placed in the hands of victims, CAP remains present for the residents of Flat Gap for the long term.
Once disaster relief is finished, other CAP programs such as counseling will help share the emotional burden of this tragedy until the cycle of healing is complete for the residents of Johnson County.
