WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (WSLS 10) - Of all the places affected by the terrible floods last Thursday night, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia was one of the worst.
With the weather finally letting up Tuesday, people began collecting what belongings were left behind in a neighborhood off of Mill Hill Drive that today is hardly recognizable.
Homes there that have stood for 40 years or more are now in rubble.
"I'm trying to hold together. I mean there's 30, 35, 40 years down the drain here," said Mark Adwell, whose house exploded when the flood severed his natural gas line, causing it to ignite.
"The one piece over there by the pickup, it burnt. The other piece, we have no idea where it's at," said Adwell.
Adwell's neighbor, Eddie Coleman's house still stands, but with significant damage and most of his valuables destroyed.
"I can't comprehend. I've been here for 40 some years, and I've never seen anything like it in my life," said Coleman.
Coleman was able to escape, but Adwell says he stayed in his great aunt's house, who is 91 and has dementia.
He watched the horror of the storm through the window.
"It was probably 2 and a half, 3 foot in her house when my pickup hit the house, and I jumped down in the water to see what hit the house. I was afraid something was going to hit the house and knock a hole in it and more water come in, or another house come down knock us off, and we'd be floating down the river too," said Adwell.
Today, volunteers and the National Guard have flocked to this small town to offer people like Coleman and Adwell what small support and comfort they can.
"Our town of Covington was hit, not as bad, but the best thing that we have seen, if there is any good out of this, is that people are helping each other. You know, you can see the love of God, you can see the American spirit here in West Virginia," said Nicole Rickett, a volunteer with the Covington Rescue Squad.
Coleman says he hopes to rebuild his home one day, but the memory of that night will stay forever.
"It's sad that when you look out you see, where there used to be 3 or 4 houses, there's nothing there but dust now," said Coleman.
Adwell says he doesn't plan to make White Sulphur Springs his home in the future, but like many, will spend the next weeks and months helping others rebuild.