wfn.org | Church volunteers respond to West Virginia flood victims

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 1, 1999	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York    10-71B{058}

By PJ Heller*

REEDY, W. Va (UMNS) - Besides death and taxes, there were always two other
things that residents of this small rural community could count on: flooding
and the fact that help would be slow in coming, if at all. 

But after battling flood waters once again in January, residents discovered
that someone did care enough to help. 

"I didn't used to believe in angels, but I guess I do now," said Sam
Salvucci, the mayor of this hamlet of about 300 people. 

The "angels" were in the form of disaster response teams from the United
Methodist Church and American Baptist Men. The United Methodists delivered a
truck filled with cleaning supplies, which is scheduled to return loaded
with furniture and household goods.

American Baptist Men provided a crew of six men that helped clean up two
residences damaged by water and mud from the flooding. 

Located at the confluence of three streams (Reedy Creek and the Middle Fork
and Right Fork of Reedy Creek), it doesn't take much rain before the creeks
overflow their banks and flood the town. 

"They've always had floods here but in the past they didn't call them
floods, they called them 'high water,'" Salvucci said. "The creeks would
come up and the water would get into Main Street. It really wasn't that big
of a deal most of the time. But it seems like in the last three years, we've
had a big change in our weather here and the flooding has become much more
severe." 

The town, in fact, has suffered flooding four times in the last three years,
Salvucci reported. Other residents recall flooding nearly every year for the
past 17 or 18 years. 

The most recent flood occurred when more than two inches of rain fell in a
six-hour period on the area, causing the creeks to again spill their banks
and damage more than two dozen homes and businesses. Some residents had to
be evacuated by boats manned by the volunteer fire department. They spent
the night at Reedy Elementary School. 
 
Salvucci said few Reedy residents had flood insurance to cover their losses.
"For the most part, these were people who can't afford to be in the national
flood insurance program," he said. "Most of them don't have anywhere else to
go," he added. 

Nor do they have anywhere to look for help. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) said the flooding was not widespread enough to qualify for
federal assistance, Salvucci said, although the agency did offer some
assistance when heavy flooding occurred in 1997. 

The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study on the flooding a few years
ago but concluded that the cost of the work wasn't justified based on the
number of people living in the area, Salvucci said. He said the state was
now considering a plan to widen the creek. 

"We're the smallest incorporated town in West Virginia," he said. "I guess
people just don't think we're important enough to do anything about this
problem." 

Not so, as far as Ed Hood is concerned. 

Hood, the western district disaster coordinator for the West Virginia United
Methodist Annual Conference, heard about flooding in Reedy and swung into
action, driving 150 miles out of his way to assess the situation in the
town. He then delivered a truck filled with cleaning supplies and provided
advice to residents on how to go about drying out their homes. 

"It wasn't a big disaster but it was forgotten," Hood said. "No one had ever
been there to explain to them what they had to do to clean up." 

Hood said he expects to return to the town soon with a truckload of
furniture, carpet and other household goods for the residents there. 

Salvucci, who teaches at the nearby Spencer Middle School, said he was
initially surprised when he spotted Hood's truck parked in front of the
town's community center. Hood told Salvucci to distribute the supplies to
families in town. "I told him to distribute it however he wants," Hood said.
"He knows the people and knows who has the need." 

"We're kind of monitoring the situation down here to see if they need
anything else," added the Rev. Bill Haynes of Stephenson United Methodist
Church in Parkersburg, a disaster relief coordinator for the district. 

#  #  #

*Heller is a writer for Disaster News Network, where this story originated.
The web site can be found at www.disasternews.net.        

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
newsdesk@umcom.umc.org
(615)742-5472