WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (WSLS 10) - A week after devastating rain fell in West Virginia, WSLS 10 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Haniewich went to White Sulphur Springs to see the damage firsthand.
During the storm, Greenbrier County saw anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. The National Weather Service called it a once in a 1,000 year event.
The American Red Cross has been helping people since the flooding.
"Walking door to door in steel-toed boots and seeing the devastation firsthand is, as fresh as it was, was very dramatic," said Mary Ann Capp, a Red Cross Volunteer from Christiansburg. "People were just coming out of their homes, pulling things out, standing in the streets, shaking their head and wondering what to do next."
The American Red Cross has more than 370 volunteers are in West Virginia supporting shelters, providing relief supplies and health services. Since the flooding began, the Red Cross has provided close to 1,800 overnight stays in emergency shelters and distributed more than 43,000 relief supplies.
In Fairlea, W.Va., the Southern Baptist Convention is running a feeding shelter out of the First Baptist Church. It was basically a mini-campus for those devastated by the recent floods. It had a shower and water purification center, a disaster relief laundry center and lots of food.
"We fed about 13,000 so far at this site, but we have two other sites located in Elk View and Mount Nebow and they're serving approximately the same thing which is somewhere between three and 4,000 meals a day," said Karen Smith, who came up to help from Kentucky.
I spent about 35 minutes with Karen and we were both in tears talking about everything that has happened in Greenbrier County over the course of the last week.
On Route 60 in Greenbrier County, we stopped many times because roads were closed. We also stopped because we wanted to talk with people who have seen so much destruction.
Heather Smith lives along Howard Creek, which flows into the Greenbrier River in Caldwell, W.Va.
"We were just having a normal day, the rain was hard. We've had it come up to the bank a lot, but it started rising rapidly. Within an hour, hour and a half, it was all the way up to our driveway and we literally were like 10 minutes ahead of the water," recalled Smith. "We literally only lad like 10 minutes before the water came down through this way and wiped everything."
"The only way we we're keeping ongoing right now is family and the community and friends and everybody is so supportive," continued Smith.
Smith said the man who lived across the street from her died in the flooding. He leaves behind a wife and seven children.