Flood recovery continues in Alderson

ALDERSON, WV (WOAY) – It’s been almost three weeks since the heavy flooding in Alderson on June 19.

The flooding caused significant damage in Monroe and Greenbrier. While the National Guard has completed its part of the cleanup process, local work is far from complete.

“We’ve got volunteer teams on three home sights this week working to help people continue to get their debris to the curb,” said Greenbrier Long Term Recovery Committee Program Coordinator Kayla McCoy. “Even though the National Guard has completed their pickup, we’re still going to work with each county’s Homeland Security, Emergency Management and with the town of Alderson to get that debris out of their driveways and into the landfills.”

The Greenbrier Long Term Recovery Committee has shouldered the load recently in leading cleanup efforts.

“So the role of a long-term recovery committee is to identify gaps in services in times of disaster and then fill those gaps,” McCoy said. “And so, what we’re seeing with the flooding in Alderson, especially since we don’t qualify for any assistance from FIMA, we’re going to be involved long-term in the recovery of this town.”

The committee is actively trying to identify people who need assistance, and work them into its schedule based on level of need and the severity of the situation. The immediate relief and cleanup phase depends on the number of people who pitch in to help, as well as how many require assistance.

“Our national partners and representatives of FIMA usually tell us that disaster recovery can take anywhere from 5-10 years for a community,” McCoy said. “We really aim to shrink that window down to maybe two or three years.”

Donations to the recovery effort can be made online at ggltrc.org, as well as Facebook.com/ggltrc.

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