Outdoor travelers are at the mercy of the weather. It is often noted that nothing makes one feel smaller than nature’s awesome power. I have known this for many years. On the morning of July 8th at our home on Laurel Creek in Beckwith, WV, (Fayette County) my wife, two children, mother-in-law, and myself learned a lot more about nature’s power and feeling small.

I remember reading in an ecology textbook in 1988 that any stream of water over three meters wide is technically a river. Judging from the normal appearance of Laurel Creek, a quaint trout stream in the New River Gorge, I was surprised to be informed that I was living on a river. Over the years I forgot that fact. On July 8th, 2001, I was reminded. On that day, my family and I witnessed a river in our back yard.

At 7:00 a.m. we awoke to a rainy Sunday morning. Ah, a day of rest and reading. I knew it had been raining since about 4:00 a.m.. The creek looked just a little high; not out of its banks, not threatening. Soon we noticed how fast it was rising. A rising that was new, different. Coupled with the sudden realization that this loud, heavy, unceasing rain meant business we found ourselves facing the possibility of a flood. Yet even then, we had no idea what the next 5 hours was to bring.

In the next 50 minutes we saved from the rising and ever more powerful water, in no particular order, the following belongings: canoe, artwork, homemade things, computer, creek-side water pump (for watering the gardens), propane tank, assorted boxes, documents, and furniture. Confusion and disbelief increased with the water. My wife’s mother living next door was the first to receive our attention since her house is (was) closest to the creek (river). About twenty minutes there and another thirty at our house was all the time we had. This was not enough. We grabbed what we could, retreated to higher ground, surrendered to the river and watched. For about four hours all we could do was watch. Most of what we saw seemed surreal. A sixty foot walnut tree seemed to melt silently into the river and disappear. I estimate there was about 20 times more water in the creek than we had ever seen. The force of the water, though, was hundreds of times magnified.

Suffice it to say life may never be quite the same again. About half the homes on Laurel Creek were totally destroyed. Almost all suffered significant damage. Fortunately, there were no injuries or lost lives in our community. My heart and prayers go out to those less fortunate. In the ten or so days after the flood we were most blessed with an enormous outpouring of volunteer help. Family, friends, friends of friends, church groups and strangers appeared at our home in Beckwith, willingly working in flood mud up to their elbows and doing whatever else was necessary. They seemed to be drawn by some primal urge to repair the emotional damages to their fellow human beings, to return humanity to the delusive position of strength in the face of nature’s omnipotence. Hope and home were restored by these very actions. Thank you all.

Yet, laborers, shovels, saws, and levels can’t completely right the damage from this flood. Enormous erosion is best repaired with big machinery; vegetation by time. It is now August 13th and people and nature have barely begun to heal the big scars from the flood. Recovery is just beginning. The numbers of phone calls, forms, and visits by officials that we have dealt with has been numbing. Except for FEMA, the big governmental agencies, like oversized B-52's, are just getting airborne from the point of view of the average family . There is waiting and uncertainty. Plans are on hold. Second to nature’s power, being on the huge waiting lists make us feel small, too. Yet, I am thankful for the government waiting lists. As one of my friends said upon a visit to Beckwith, "this looks like Honduras after Hurricane Mitch except they had to recover with only one-one- hundredth of the resources." The works of many people in the Fayette County Emergency Services, Red Cross, State Road, National Guard, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Fire Marshal’s office, FEMA, Small Business Administration, law enforcement, etc., have led to a solid foundation for eventual recovery. Thanks to everyone who has given of their blood, sweat and tears to this effort. If the commitment continues and southern West Virginia is not forgotten, short-changed, or dismissed as a lower caste of useless hillbillies, then full recovery is possible, and deserved. After all, West Virginia is America, not a third world country.

Grassroots organizations and just plain folk are generally able to respond more quickly, even if more modestly. West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has raised around eight thousand dollars from a single e-mail notice for supplies and donations to West Virginia flood victims. Bernie Sharp of The Store in Beckwith organized a fund-raiser for Laurel Creek victims and over four thousand dollars have been raised so far. Plateau Action Network (PAN) donated five hundred dollars to Mr. Sharp’s fund raiser and another five hundred dollars to needy families in Oak Hill. PAN members and hundreds of others also volunteered their time and energy to help victims clean up and get back on their feet.

The real job of planning the future is now at hand. The basically opposite goals of quick relief and long term improvements makes this a time for careful, smart decisions. This is not the time for egos and politics. This will be either opportunity seized or squandered. Haste and poor planning may leave us vulnerable to more of the same in the future. Obvious issues which the flood exposed are our region’s inadequate sewer treatment and the terror of heavy rains on the exposed lands of surface mining, timbering, haul roads, and pavement on the steep terrain of Appalachia. Flooding will increase if more land surface is exposed. I really fear for our future when I think that things could get worse because of current political trends toward mining more coal, cutting more trees, and paving more lots. There is a call from the people for legislation to allow for regulating the quantity of water a watershed can carry as well as its quality. I know we can’t control the rainfall but that’s all the more reason to take steps to control what we can. Can’t there be a law that allows only a certain percentage of a watershed’s surface area be un-vegetated at one time, with a consideration of the steepness of the land figured in? And can’t that law err on the side of protecting people’s life and property instead of erring on the side of short-term corporate profits? A drive through or flight over southern West Virginia easily reveals we have erred on the side of profits far too long. Isn’t it the people’s turn to get a fair shake? The profiteers will keep calling for more "scientific proof" of environmental damage until the last mountain is pushed into the last valley. Is it asking too much to expect adequate sewage treatment so our waters that we play in and obtain water supplies from are not a health hazard? Wouldn’t such policies save money and boost the economy in the long run? How long should West Virginians accept the substandard conditions of the past when technologies and lessons of the present are with us?

We will stay on Laurel Creek and enjoy the sweet side of nature – great blue herons, king- fishers, racoons, mink, trout, the gift of flowing water. We will do all we can to make the post-flood life better than before. We will continue the fight to save the mountains and rivers, for proper living conditions, for economic justice, for respect, and a future for those who love it. In the mountains we are tall, deep, and proud.