CLAY, W.Va. — Despite being one of the hardest hit areas in the massive flooding, inspirational stories have come out of Clay County.
With Clay County High School damaged by flood waters and many homes destroyed, resident Frank Bass told MetroNews Friday one woman who lost her residence was still willing to help others.
“One family in particular came the very second day, and her home was washed away. It was a viral video on Facebook and it was just heartbreaking,” Bass said. “But to see her show up in her car with what little she had, she was still coming down here to give back to her neighbors. That’s just the type of folks we have here in Clay County and all around the state.”
Bass said there’s been an abundance of support from many, including people traveling from distance to provide supplies.
“We’ve had such an outpouring of love and appreciation from outside the county area and outside the state,” he said. “We’ve got trucks coming in from as far as New Jersey and Ohio, and we had to actually move things out here because we’re getting such an overflow of necessities that we need here. Every bit of it is going as quickly as we get it and it’s greatly appreciated.”
Rene Moore, who owns the Elk River Inn in Clay, said some were staying with her or in their cars overnight to help.
“They just want to help so they’re staying wherever they can,” Moore said.
Patricia Moore said her sister lost a significant amount of her business, and that FEMA hasn’t been to see everyone who was impacted.
“It’s a nightmare for these people. She didn’t lose her home, but she lost probably 50 percent of her inventory in her store; the whole basement the water was up to the ceiling. The mess that it left behind, I can’t imagine how people are dealing with that in their home because it’s incredibly bad.”
Fran King said that despite the damage, the cleanup has gone well thanks to the support of others.
“It’s just been devastating, but everyone’s been real helpful,” she said. “I think for a disaster to be this bad everything has went really, really well.”
Clay County High School is serving as a distribution center and was very busy with volunteers Friday.