BY JESSICA HATFIELD

Associate Editor

Resilience…

In the wake of disaster the Gilbert and surrounding areas have shown that is a word they know quit well. A torrential rainfall on Friday evening into Saturday morning proved to be too much for the creek banks, forcing them to leave their banks and spread like wildfire throughout the region.

Gilbert, Wharncliffe, Baisden, Hanover and Verner residents scrambled to save what personal belongings were available and find their way to a place away from the flood waters. After what seemed to be a never-ending night of destruction, tired and devastated they returned to their residences and businesses to sort out what was left and to begin picking up pieces.

Almost immediately, those who were able to lend a helping hand were working to help those in need, and neighbors became citizen’s first line of defense against this massive disaster. Local fire department members and road crews were up early Saturday helping to clear roadways and rescue residents who were trapped by mudslides and flood waters.

The National Guard, Red Cross and Salvation Army descended on these areas and with the assistance of locals have been making efforts to reach all of those in need. A shelter formed immediately at the Larry Joe Harless Community Center and became a hub of communication between fire department, state police and these state and national crews to distribute water, cleaning supplies, food and a friendly face to those who were affected so tragically by this event.

On Sunday, Governor Joe Manchin, U.S. Represenative Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.) and West Virginia State Finance Chair Harry Keith White took a tour of the area to assess damage to expedite relief efforts on what was declared a State of Emergency on Monday, May 11. County officials also joined them on their tour, making it apparent that this would be something that they would be working hand-in-hand to resolve.

“The areas that we visited today showed that there this isn’t isolated incidents, but that there is devastation almost everywhere that you go, from Rt. 52 to the Matewan, Ben Creek, Gilbert Creek and some isolated areas that we weren’t even able to get to today,” said White. “But I think that the real thing we need to be thankful for is a coordinated effort by bringing everyone together from the state level, federal level.”

“Some of the infrastructure is going to take a while to get back in place, but the first thing we have to do is get people back in their homes and get our businesses back open again.”

“That will be our first priority,” said Manchin. “It is a team effort and I would like all the people that have been hard hit by this devastating flood to understand that they are not by themselves and that there is a team of people that are able and willing and wanting to help,” stated the Governor. “And if there is one thing that we have an excess of in West Virginia is resilience and we have been very tough and we have been tried through the battles many times and we will come through this and expediently as possible, getting people’s lives back to normal as possible.”

“Our heart goes out to them,” he continued. “We are there and our support will be there, not only our moral support but our financial support.”

Residents were advised to take several pictures of the damage received to their homes and businesses for FEMA documentation. “A picture is worth a thousand words and in this case it may be worth a lot more,” said Manchin.

On Monday, Gilbert Mayor Vivian Livingood stated that Gilbert’s biggest plan of action would be the National Guard. Livingood stated that crews would be going out and picking up debris. The National Guard will be dumping the debris at a site donated by the Board of Education, located at the walking track beside Gilbert High School. The site is designated for National Guard only; no individuals are allowed to make any personal drop-offs. Individuals are instructed to put all debris in front of their homes and businesses to be picked up.

Another large project the town is working on is increasing water pressure to those in town. Livingood and Gilbert Volunteer Fire Chief Todd Hamrick were contacting other volunteer fire departments on Monday to borrow an additional tanker truck. This truck would be used supply the water pressure needed to individuals to begin using their town water again for cleaning purposes. However, residents should not use water for hygiene uses until further notice.

“We have received another tremendous outpouring of support to help us with water, other fire departments are lending their hoses to run temporary water lines,” said Livingood. “Of course it will all have to be repaired later with permanent lines but we want to provide water to people so they can flush their toilets and for cleaning.”

“They should not use it in any form for drinking water or personal hygiene and they really need to be careful with that, my recommendation would be to boil it and at this point I wouldn’t even use it to wash my dishes,” she stated.

Individuals in need of cleaning supplies, water or hot meals should go to the Larry Joe Harless Center or their local volunteer fire department.

The Gilbert Times will be covering this story as it progresses, say check out next week’s edition of The Gilbert Times for more information regarding the flood recovery efforts.

Any individuals wishing to volunteer or make donations should also report to the Larry Joe Harless Center. Volunteers stated that supplies for babies, such as hygiene wipes and diapers were in demand.