I didn't know where to put this and thought here would be as good as any. I am really devastated about the flooding that occured this past weekend in West Virginia, my home. Where I am located, we were lucky and never got any flooding that caused any damage or harm to anyone. Southern WV is in dire straights, however. 44 counties have been affected by flooding, what meteorologists call a 1000 year flood. Towns wiped out, High Schools filled with mud and debris. 25 people have lost their life as of today, around the same amount unaccounted for.
Through all of this, I've seen what type of people live in this great state. There has been no looting, no murders and people trying to take advantage of others when their down. I see what made America great, EVERYONE I know has either donated water and canned goods or their time and labour. As sad as I am for the people of southern WV, I am filled with pride with the generosity and attitude of all the Mountaineers in this great state. We are always on the bad end of bad jokes, said to be illiterate, inbred and redneck hillbillies. I just want everyone to pay attention to the people of WV and see how we handle adversity, a lesson for the more civilised people's of the world. We are at a low point right now, but we were all raised to keep our head held high and to take care of one another. I'm proud to be a Mountaineer!
That being said, southern WV is an extremely poor area. The coal mines have been shut down over the years and there is not much else in that area as far as jobs are concerned. My Facebook is flooded with pictures of West Virginians taking tractor trailer loads of food, water and supplies to help those in their time of need. If anyone would like to help I'll leave this article with a few different ways that you could. Anything would help. Sorry for bringing this up and leaving it here, but I'd like everyone to know what we're going through right now. #MOUNTAINEERSTRONG!
m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57715a4de4b0dbb1bbbb4b1e
