Episcopal Press and News
Episcopal Church Responds as Storms and Floods Batter Several States
Episcopal News Service. March 7, 1997 [97-1704]
Mike Barwell, Director of Communication for the Diocese of Southern Ohio
(ENS) Thousands fled to higher ground during the first week of March as torrential rains caused flash floods throughout a five-state region flanking the Ohio River.
Already dubbed the Great Ohio River Flood of 1997, the raging waters inundated towns and isolated homes in the hills of central and northern Kentucky and southern Ohio for nearly a week.
In some areas, flood waters were the highest in decades -- equaling or surpassing the record floods of 1964 -- and left dozens dead and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Federal and state disaster declarations were made in West Virginia. Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana after a visit by Vice President Al Gore to the region.
Hardest hit by floods was central and northern Kentucky, where 10 to 12 inches of rain fell in the March 1 storm system that raged from Arkansas to Pennsylvania, spawning deadly tornadoes and flash floods. The Ohio River flooded from Wheeling, West Virginia, to Cairo, Illinois, where it joins the Mississippi.
The death toll was highest in Arkansas, where tornadoes killed two dozen people and injured more than 200 in the first few hours of the storm.
Emergency grants from the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief were made to the Dioceses of Arkansas, which received $25.000 and West Virginia, which received $15,000. Grants to other dioceses were pending at press time as diocesan staffs assessed their needs.
The sheer volume of water soaking the region and racing down river was astounding. Meteorologists estimated that 44 billion gallons of water fell during the storm over Pendleton County -- only one of the 120 counties pounded by the storm throughout Kentucky. Hardest hit were small, rural communities isolated as bridges and roads were flooded or washed out.
Falmouth, a small town in Pendleton County in the Diocese of Lexington, was inundated by more than 50 feet of water after the flash floods. The city is nestled in the Licking River valley, which overflowed its banks in a few hours, sending residents scrambling and trapping others in second floors or rooftops. About 90 percent of the town's 2,700 residents were evacuated, officials said. The Licking River drains 70 miles north into the Ohio River at Cincinnati. Water depth could only be estimated because most water-depth measuring sticks were entirely under water.
In central Kentucky, flooding in Lexington closed the diocesan and cathedral offices, according to diocesan officials. Water in the cathedral basement and loss of electricity throughout the city forced the offices to close for the week. Calls were re-routed via a voice-mail system. with diocesan employees working from their homes.
"While the state of Kentucky has been hard hit," reported Kay Collier-Slone, the editor of the diocese's newspaper, The Advocate, "churches in the Diocese of Lexington appear to have been spared direct hits."
The greatest damage in the central Kentucky area seemed to be in the town of Cynthiana, where "rowboats had been a primary means of transportation" since the flooding began, she said. The Rev. Jim Winborn of the Church of Advent in Cynthiana was able to drive into the flooded community for the first time on Wednesday, and found the church unharmed.
In the river cities of Ashland, Covington and Newport, which have historically borne the brunt of flooding, residents echoed the words of the receptionist at Calvary, Ashland: "Thank God for flood walls."
In the Diocese of Kentucky, officials in Louisville reported nearly 40,000 homes flooded and millions of dollars in damage before the river crested on March 5. Janet Irwin, editor of the diocesan newspaper Episcopal News, reported that one church had been damaged.
By mid week, flood waters were racing past Cincinnati's floodwalls at five-and-a-half miles per hour -- carrying an estimated 5.6 million gallons of water per second as the torrent crested more than 12 feet above flood stage at 64.7 feet. Normal depth is 26 feet at Cincinnati, and flood stage is 52 feet -- when the river begins to swallow up low-lying areas outside of the flood walls.
Most of Cincinnati sits on hills. or is protected by flood walls, so that most residences and churches were protected from the high water. Some businesses along the river were under four to six feet of brown, murky, debris-laden water. Whole trees rushed down stream. along with parts of small buildings and other flotsam.
About 120 miles upriver in Gallipolis, "We're an island," said the Rev. John Good from his office at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. He said that although the downtown was not flooded, all roads in and out of the river city were flooded or washed out. "You can only get out by a few back roads over the ridges," he said.
"It hasn't been this bad since 1937." Good said old-timers remembered. "If it weren't for the flood control walls and dams, we'd be under water."
Good, who serves as the president of the Gallia County outreach program, said that although the Red Cross and other emergency relief services were meeting immediate needs, St. Peter's and other congregations would be collecting a special offering on March 9 to provide funds for flood assistance.
"The Red Cross will replace bedding and clothing, and things like that," Good said, but they won't replace a stove or refrigerator. We do the things they can't do." While most displaced residents were being housed in the local high school, Good said St. Peter's could be used if necessary.
Throughout the region, most Episcopal Churches were built in the late 19th century on high ground above flood lines.
The Rev. Jesse "Buzz" Yarborough, rector of Christ Church, Little Rock, and president of the Arkansas Interfaith Conference, said that diocesan relief efforts there were being joined with those of other faith groups represented by the conference.
"There's been an awful lot of pulling together, across the state and between churches," he said. "The Episcopal churches in the area are acting as receiving and distribution centers."
While relief groups need "no more clothes," he said, there is a need for the basic tools for cleaning up: chainsaws, shovels, brooms, work gloves, and "people who are willing to work." Victims also need bedding, baby care products and plastic sheeting.
In the college town of Arkadelphia, about 70 miles southwest of Little Rock, tornadoes leveled most of the downtown and killed six people. "It's unbelievable," Yarborough said. "I've seen solid brick-built homes where the brick has just been smashed almost in powder. When the town's rebuilt, it's not going to look like the same community."
The majority of funds coming from religious judicatories, like the Presiding Bishop's Fund, "are going to go to directly help the people who need it most," he said. While federal and other relief agencies are on hand, the churches often are able to provide immediate assistance "to help people get over the hurdle."
In two of the hardest-hit counties, Pulasky and Saline, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to process 4,000 applications for assistance, he said.
The state has so far been spared the level of flooding affecting the more northern states, but Yarborough cautioned, "I don't think we've seen anything yet. You know what's still on the ground up there in the Dakotas that hasn't melted yet? If that melts and gets into the rivers, it's going to be a bad spring."
In West Virginia, where the diocese sent $14,000 to help with relief efforts in three particularly flooded towns -- Point Pleasant, Huntington, and Hurricane -- the initial response by the Red Cross and other relief organizations seemed to be well-organized, reported the Rev. Cheryl Winter of St. Timothy's. Hurricane. "At the first sign of the flood, they were hauling in tractor-trailer loads of cleaning supplies," she said. "Our sense is that our help is going to be needed more next week when food needs are going to get bigger."
Expecting floods goes with the territory, she said. "It's something that people are accustomed to, but you don't ever get used to it."
So does pitching in when the floods do come, she added. "That's something that's pretty special about West Virginia," she said. "We know about floods and people really respond from everywhere. That's the nature of small rural areas. They just take care of each other."
Folks at All Saints, Portsmouth, Ohio, rolled up their sleeves and got to work making emergency meals for flood refugees and emergency workers.
Many small river towns were ravaged more by flash floods coming off the hills than by the Ohio River surge. Portsmouth, surrounded by both the Scioto and Ohio rivers remained high and dry, protected by flood walls.
Opening the church kitchen for food preparation and storage of perishables from other locations, Kelly Alexander -- who manages a delicatessen in downtown Portsmouth -- rounded up dozens of friends as volunteers and made 4,000 servings of hot stew for delivery to Red Cross and Salvation Army shelter.
Alexander and her husband, Alex, helped coordinate volunteers from the First and Second Presbyterian churches, the Roman Catholic church, the Friends' Society and a synagogue to prepare and deliver the meals throughout the region.
Alexander delivered some meals personally to the small town of Raredon, northwest of Portsmouth. "There was a lot of mud," she said. "Most homes and businesses had about three feet of mud and water" inside the buildings. "Yet. when the waters went down, all those folks got together and they started cleaning each others' homes."
She paused and reflected, "There are times when you think that a community's whole sense of community has disappeared. Then something like this happens and that sense of community comes back. People of all faiths worked together" to help and clean up after the floods, Alexander marveled. "That's what church and community is all about."
Contributions can be marked for disaster relief and sent to:
The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief c/o Banker's Trust Company Box 12043 Newark, New Jersey, 07101
![[thumbnail: Episcopal Churches Respon...]](/ENS/photographs/thumbnails/97-1704_thb.jpg) |