An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — If ever there is a time for West Virginians to open their hearts and help out their fellow Mountain State residents, it is now.
Tens of thousands of the state’s residents are suffering in the wake of heavy flooding late last week.
With a death toll of at least 23 people, many of those are dealing with the heartbreak of losing loved ones to the resulting ravages of heavy rain that fell on much of the state last Thursday.
While those families’ pain is acute, many others also are suffering. They’re coping with the loss of their homes destroyed in the flooding, or trying to figure out whether heavily damaged dwellings and businesses can be salvaged. Many people whose homes are still standing face the hard work of cleaning them up from the dirty flood water that coursed through them. All of those affected lost all or many of their belongings.
How bad was it? Jan Cahill, sheriff of the hardest-hit county, Greenbrier, described it as “complete chaos…