MCDOWELL COUNTY, W. Va. -While the February flood waters have returned to their banks, the damage they left behind is still an ever-present reminder of those terrible events. Like many buildings in the area, Nain Community Church in Welch was flooded, prompting its members to hold services in the home of Elise Zajac, a missionary at the church.
She has been organizing volunteer groups, starting in Welch before expanding to places all over McDowell County, and doing things like cleaning basements, spraying bleach, and more. Those volunteers have the opportunity to make a positive impact on many people in their community, especially the elderly residents who would struggle to clear out the mud on their own.
“…So for them to be dealing with four inches of mud in the basement and hauling the buckets, it’s very physically demanding, that’s why, when five to ten people can come in and say, ‘hey, we’re here to help you with your basement, you can only imagine how that makes them feel. They go from feeling so overwhelmed to feeling like, ‘hey, I’m going to get through this,’” says Zajac.
We spoke to Gabriel Underwood, a fifteen year old Welch resident who has been doing just that ever since the flood, wanting to help his neighbors rebuild their lives after seeing this level of devastation for the first time.
“I’ve seen a whole Mustang car go floating in the river. I’ve seen a mobile trailer go floating down the river with a man sitting on top of it. I’ve seen, you know, people’s basements completely washed out, I’ve seen people’s houses completely washed out,” says Underwood.
Zajac is looking for more local support, especially young people like Underwood, to help clean out homes.
She says there are variety of jobs, even ones that don’t involve getting muddy, like giving a listening ear to residents struggling during this difficult time.
“I think a lot of people feel like they can’t really offer much, but the truth is, like I said, we are just so desperate for people, like, you don’t have to be shoveling the mud and getting, you know, completely filthy with the mud, if that’s what you’re not comfortable doing, but there’s old ladies that need their floors cleaned and the ramifications of this flood are so far reaching…”
If you would like to help, you can give the McDowell County non-emergency number (304-436-4106).
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