A week and a half ago, my state
West Virginia, had so many counties that were flooded: The torrential rain was
relentless and it fell and fell. Imagine over fourteen straight hours of
rain—it’s unimaginalbe to grasp that much. Along with the rain were severe
thunderstorms. I watched the rain pour as I looked out my kitchen window off
and on; my front yard looked like a small lake. Guess I should say that where I
live is on top of a giant mountain and that in itself is a good thing as far as
flooding if it were to happen. But there are numerous places here in my city
that have high mountains where people live and too many times, nearby creeks
have overflowed and flooded too many areas.
By late afternoon, the weather
channel had warnings for flooding as well as for posible tornadoes. Thankfully
no tornadoes spawned here but by time for the local evening news, everyone
could see imminent devastation just waiting. People were frantic about whether
or not their loved ones were affected and yet in too many cases, they could not
be reached for power was out in so many areas that reaching anyone by a
landline phone or a cell phone was impossible.
At 11:00 that night, everyone
[that had power] could see the flooding on TV in too many areas here. Some
areas were not known about for cameramen or women could not get to those
places. And the wait began—it went on all night long.
I couldn’t sleep for fear of what
was happening for although I live high up, far down below is the main river that
flows through my area. Its tributary was no doubt at flood stage and yet it
would take until daylight to see that the tributary river had overflowed its
banks while the main river reached an all-time high.
When dawn came that morning, what
I witnessed on TV was mindblowing—the devastation in cities nearby me and those
far away were in too many cases, under water. In one city that is about two
hundred miles from me, the main street looked like a river for water was
gushing down the street so fast it looked surreal. There was no way I could get to any of those
areas for too many were flooded. By mid-afternoon, so many counties here were
completely devastated.
By evening, I watched the local
news channel and there was more bad news: Many lives had been lost as they had
been swept away in torrential water and/or drowned. And like others here, I
learned that this flooding hadn’t happened, such as it did, in one hundred
years. And then came photos of flooded areas that were unreal to witness on
TV—houses gone, businesses torn apart and flooded, one city completely
submerged under water and worst of all, was seeing people so distraught that
they were utterly dumbstruck. Watching it, I was as well. No one could imagine
such horror here and yet it happened.
Today is the 4th of
July and more relentless rain is on the way. No one can deal with it. No one
wants it. Everyone fears another flood. As of yesterday, the death count was twenty
three—twenty three too many. One that died was a four year old boy who got swept
away from his grandfather; another was an eight year old boy who got caught up
in the rushing waters. At this point in time, a family is still hoping that
their fourteen year old daughter is alive but three of her family members were
flood victims. Hope is what so many are holding onto.
We have been blessed with an
outpouring of help in the form of volunteers from non-flooded areas as well as
out of state volunteers—all helping the flood victims out in any way, shape or
form. So many businesses chimed in with TV stations and started a drive for
non-perishable foods, bottled water and cleaning supplies. As of now, the
donations are still coming in and are greatly needed.
Thoughout this time frame, like
others, I have been on edge worrying about relatives that got stranded or
friends who hadn’t reported to anyone. Luckily,
I found out that they were safe or at a shelter but so many here are
still not sure if their loved ones or friends are all right.
I wish I could show you the
devastation but I can’t; however, you can google what has happened here in West
Virginia and see the horror of it all. Perhaps you live in a state or country
that has a lot of floods and if you should,
you have my prayers for living with that is beyond the realm of
thinking. But it does happen and when it does, there’s no stopping it. Water is
the source of life; it’s inside of us, we need it to survive and yet water can
be a dangerous thing—dangerous when it rains relentlessy causing creeks,
streams or rivers to overflow and touch anything in its way. It is the
strongest force in the world when it becomes such as that.
And yes, it is something that in
too many cases, people have had to deal with, live with or be affected by it.
Any force of nature can be bad—even here we had a horrendous tornado in 1991
[which had never happened prior,] another one not quite as bad three years
later and then a horrid storm that took out trees, houses and did incredible
damage. But this flooding here has been so massive that in some places, it will
take years to repair, rebuild or to completely redo streets, highways,
electrical systems and most of all, infrastructures.
I felt compelled to write this
for you to read; you may already know all of this information and if so, feel
free to dismiss it. Healing will happen but it sure won’t happen overnight for
those that lost every single thing that they ever had—and worse feeling the
pain of losing loved ones will take a long time to recover if it happens.
One thing that has been and still
is that West Virginians are strong: They have always helped their neighbors out
in dire circumstances and they still do. I know that all too well for I am one:
I was raised that way to help others. From one generation to another, this
looking out for each other has been passed down and it’s a strong trait here.
But I want to say a huge “Thank you” to anyone and everyone that has come here
to help for you are so appreciated for all that you have been doing. May you be
blessed ten-fold.
Sherry Hill
Copyright © 2016
Sherry Hill
All Rights Reserved
You're more than welcome and thank you!
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