Situation Report: Hope Force Responds to West Virginia Flooding

On June 23, 2016, heavy rains produced monumental flooding through numerous counties in West Virginia. Ten counties have received national disaster declarations, making this the third deadliest flood in West Virginia's history. In just a few hours' time, accumulations reached 10 inches in some areas, qualfiying this event to be classified as a 1,000 year flood. The storms responsible for producing the torrential rainfall also attributed to an EF1 tornado -- also causing injuries. 

We often say that it is a "terrible privilege" to serve those who have been deeply impacted by disaster -- and this is certainly the case in the aftermath of historical flooding in West Virginia. Our HFI Reservists -- many who are seasoned flood remediation experts and chaplains -- have converged from many parts of the United States to come alongside homeowners who have experienced tremendous loss to their homes...and others who have even lost loved ones. Some of our Reservists left the flooded areas of Houston to go directly to West Virginia. 

Under the leadership of seasoned HFI responder, George Camp, our team (from six states) is assisting flood victims in the town of Rainelle, West Virginia. The descriptions of this town have been reported as looking like "a war zone" due to the fact that it took an extremely hard hit from flooding. 

The greatest asset of Hope Force International is the people who sacrificially give of themselves to those who are in great need of what we call "the ministry of presence." Please pray for those impacted by the floods, and for our HFI teams in the field.