HURRICANE, W.Va. — A team from the city of Hurricane, West Virginia has arrived in the flood ravaged town of Whitesburg, Kentucky ready to help in any way they can. The ten member crew is a “mobile infrastructure response team.”
“It’s our utility and street department folks. They’re able to respond to disasters, not during the disaster, but a few days after. They’re going to go spend a week or two in Letcher County,” said Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards.
The team is equipped with excavators and a “water buffalo” to provide drinking water to flood victims who have nothing left.
Chief Justin Hunsucker with a spare cruiser provided by the city
of Hurricane, W.Va.
Edwards said every community in the region needs help, but they were able to make a connection with Whitesburg, which is the county seat of Letcher County and connect with city officials there. The Whitesburg Police Department is in desperate need of emergency vehicles. Seven of the city’s police cruisers were destroyed in the flash flood. Mayor Edwards said Hurricane donated a spare vehicle from their fleet to the police department in Whitesburg.
The cruiser was delivered on Sunday.
Edwards said the response team will be there to help handle utility problems.
“Water lines are running free flowing everywhere There’s either no pressure or low pressure because there are leaks everywhere. Our crew will go out, find those leaks, cap them off, and do whatever is needed, ” the Mayor explained.
The Hurricane crew will also help make repairs and get the Whitesburg water treatment plant back up and running in the days ahead.
Back in Hurricane, Edwards and his team have organized a drive for flood relief supplies. Most needed are cases of bottled water along with jugs of water, bleach and other cleaning supplies, and canned food.
“That’s the biggest need water and cleaning supplies along with canned food. They really need canned food,” he said.
Those items can be brought to the Hurricane fire hall from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Thursday to be delivered to relief centers in Kentucky.
“It’s a huge mess right now. There are some people emergency services are just now getting in contact with as cell towers begin to come back on line. They don’t have water, they don’t have food, and a lot of them don’t even have a place to stay,” he said.