Robson, WV (WOAY) – Two weeks after flash flooding tore through the Mulberry Fork community in Robson, the washed-out road that once stranded families deep in the hollow has been rebuilt, but much of the recovery is far from finished.
The August 16th flood left neighbors to dig themselves out until outside help arrived. Since then, residents say the community has made significant progress, with the state and neighbors both pitching in.
“It took ten days of a lot of hard work and clean up here. But the community … came together,” said Robbie Miller, a Mulberry community resident. “You know, even the governor visited and the state road, they were here every day. And quite honestly, I feel that the road’s better now than it was even before the flood.”
The Robson Freewill Baptist Church became a hub for the local response. Pastor James Bowles said the need was clear early on.
“We decided that we were not going to wait on anybody else to respond, that we as a church was going to respond in whatever capacity that we could,” Bowles said. “And we just started organizing volunteers and utilizing local resources to do this.”
Church volunteers cooked meals every evening and ran supplies up the hollow. Bowles said some of the people doing the most to help were the ones who had lost the most themselves.
“One gentleman up the holler there, his home was knocked off the foundation. And instead of him being over there worrying about his own property, he’s out volunteering with us to deliver meals,” Bowles said. “And that just goes to the spirit of the community here.”
The clearest sign of how far the community has come is the road itself. The stretch of Mulberry Fork Road that washed out in the flooding, cutting off everyone living farther up the hollow and forcing some to hike through the woods and over the ridgeline to get out, has since been rebuilt.
What has not come back are many of the private bridges families use to cross the creek to reach their homes. In at least one spot, community members built a narrow walking bridge so neighbors can cross on foot, but vehicles are still not an option.
“Some people, I’m going to be honest, I don’t believe have the funds to rebuild those bridges,” Bowles said. “We’re at that point now to where we need outside resources to come in to help rebuild bridges for people. And that’s something that doesn’t seem like the government is able to do, and the local is not able to do that either. So the people are kind of just out there waiting, looking for help.”
For now, the church is leading the push to raise money and find those outside resources. Weeks into the cleanup, Miller said the flood showed him something unique about where he lives.
“West Virginia, a lot of times it’s portrayed negatively in popular culture, in the news, and all these lists, we’re on the last,” Miller said. “But I can tell you we’re the first on many, many lists. And that is community, respect, humbleness and being good neighbors.”
Anyone who would like to help can find information through the Robson Freewill Baptist Church Facebook page, where the church is collecting donations and looking for contractors for the bridge rebuild.
