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Kentucky Baptists Send Volunteers to Aid W. Virginia Mudslide Victims

West Virginia Department of Transportation
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A Kentucky mission group is sending volunteers to West Virginia to aid victims of last week’s heavy flooding which destroyed some 3,500 homes and left at least 23 dead.  

President Obama has declared a federal disaster in areas affected by heavy thunderstorms resulting in mudslides across the state over the weekend.

Coordinator for the Green Valley Baptist Association and the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief Bill Kramer says most of his group of 22 volunteers heads out Tuesday to help clear mud and debris from homes and cook food for survivors and first responders.  He says from what he's heard from assessment teams on the ground, he expects a grim situation.

“It’s bad... very bad," said Kramer. "I mean, houses swept off the foundation. If you saw the pictures, of houses floating down the river, on fire... This one house we have to do, the man there is in his late 80s, he’s in fourth stage cancer, he’s got nothing left until we get there.  In other words, probably gonna be a three day job just to help him clear his house out.”  

Kramer says volunteers are focusing effort near the Ronceverte and Charleston area.  He says cleaning groups have to race to save property, and can encounter a host of hazards.

“[The dangers are] the property itself, how bad it is, how much has been moved out of the house, is it stable?  Sometimes it's snakes, you never know when they’re going to pop up either. Sometimes they crawl up into the wooden framework. Most times it’s just trying to get in there fast, because you don’t want the mold to set up in the houses. That’s why we go in, and clean them out like that.”

Kramer says more Baptist volunteers are expected to deploy over the next week as West Virginia braces for another round of severe flooding Monday night.

Rob Canning is a native of Murray, KY, a 2015 TV Production grad of Murray State. At MSU, he served as team captain of the Murray State Rowing Club. Rob's goal is to become a screenwriter, film director or producer and looks to the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie for inspiration. He appreciates good music, mainly favoring British rock n' roll, and approves of anything with Jack White's name on it. When not studying, rowing or writing, Rob enjoys spending his free time with a book or guitar.
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