Joining ongoing flood relief efforts, West Virginia University students traveled to the flood-ravaged areas of Wheeling and Fairmont Thursday (June 19) to support cleanup efforts and distribute donations to those in need.
Homes were destroyed and many people have been displaced by floodwaters — which claimed the lives of at least eight people — after flash flooding slammed the Mountain State last weekend (June 14-15).
In Ohio County, Aidan Priest, outreach events program coordinator with WVU Land-Grant and Community Outreach in WVU Government Relations, led a team with Nick Eiginger, program coordinator at the WVU Downtown Visitors Center, and students Colin Street, Rozaireo Jones, Brogan Dozier, Nolan Danhires and Landon Tucker.
Armed with boots, gloves and protective equipment, the group spent the day at Midtown Storage, a small business in Triadelphia that sustained catastrophic damage. They removed debris and furniture from several buildings and swept out inches of mud.
Owner Saun Capehart, of Wheeling, said some of her storage units were carried downstream by the flood and a few feet of water still lingered in the basement of one of her rental units. She said help had been scarce since most volunteer efforts have centered on cleaning up residences.
“We’re so overwhelmed,” Capehart said. “I was told that, as a business owner, I was on my own. So I said, ‘We’re just going to have to deal with it by ourselves.’ But then these WVU students showed up — I couldn’t believe it when I got the call.”
Tucker, a graduate student in history from Grafton, noted that while West Virginia sees frequent flooding, being up close and interacting with affected residents makes their work more meaningful.
“We’ve had flooding in Grafton, and we watch frequent natural disasters through social media, but these things happen closer and closer until they’re in your own backyard,” he said. “As soon as Aidan told me this WVU effort was happening and asked me if I’d be interested, I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
The group had gathered supplies, including 60 cases of water, in Morgantown to deliver to the Northern Panhandle. Donations came from both individuals and organizations like WVU Medicine, which sent 125,000 rubber gloves, and Panera Bread in Morgantown, which provided lunches for volunteers.
“We had to use a full, 26-foot truck to transport the supplies we collected in Morgantown,” Priest said. “It was an intense experience. We went directly into the affected area and, for many of us, the reality of what the disaster was like far exceeded what we imagined was possible.”
Dozier, a journalism graduate student and past vice president of the WVU Student Government Association, said they were able to save family photos that were found.
“I grew up in Charles Town and my mom was really big on giving back to our community,” said Dozier, adding that she’s helped with flood relief efforts in southern West Virginia.
“As a land-grant institution, it is our duty to serve the state,” Priest said. “We were created to be a community-driven institution and it is important that when we have the opportunity to get involved, in both good times and bad, we step up and help.”
A second group of WVU students assisted with recovery efforts in Marion County by also delivering donated goods on Thursday. They included Logan Pierce, Sophia Flower, Laasya Chennuru, Garrett Oursler, Sydney Mullens, Joel Hershman, Ian Murray, Mimi Ferguson and Julia Leyden.
