'Fury of water' played havoc in West Virginia
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Rain saturated the hills and mountains of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky the last two weeks of May. So in the early morning hours of May 31 — when six inches of rain fell in a four-hour period — rain water, uncontainable by the already saturated ground, washed away homes, streets and bridges.
"The fury of the water just played havoc," said Barry H. Newill, president of the Huntington West Virginia Stake where two member families lost homes in the flood.
Magoffin, Floyd and Martin counties in Kentucky — where in each between 350 to 500 homes were lost and upwards of 1,500 residents were displaced — all needed immediate emergency assistance. Two hours after President Newill made a request for assistance from Church Welfare Services, "decisions were made, approval was granted and trucks were being loaded."
Just days after the floods, he delivered $10,000 checks from the Church to the three affected counties and 50,000 pounds of food arrived in Kentucky from storehouses in Georgia and Ohio.
Full-time missionaries spent the days after the flood helping and assisting members, then other victims. Members also helped with disaster relief and assembled almost 400 hygiene kits to be distributed at local disaster relief centers.
Although no lives were lost in the disaster, President Newill said "certainly the level of displacement was great." In some areas nursing homes were flooded and those residents were moved into schools and other public shelters. This created a shortage of shelter space, he said.
People felt great, however, knowing that an organization like the Church would reach out to help them, President Newill added.
"People would ask me, 'Why do you do this?' " he said. " 'This is what we are doing to love our neighbor and help them in times of need.' "
