As Alabamians watched tropical storm Barry pound the Gulf Coast and threaten flooding throughout the state Aug. 5-6, one Alabama Baptist worked in the flooded towns of West Virginia.
Jerry Butler, state coordinator for Alabama Baptists’ cleanup and recovery teams, left Aug. 2 to do damage assessment following a second flood that hit areas of West Virginia at the end of July. Heavy rain resulted in more flooding in Boone and Raleigh counties, with a 3-year-old killed in McDowell County when he was swept into a culvert.
Butler had just returned from leading a three-man cleanup team following the July 8 rainfall that damaged parts of West Virginia. The initial flooding caused more than $20 million worth of damage, according to ABC News.
Butler- a member of South Sauty Baptist Church, Langston, in Marshall Association-said that before cleanup teams can help, a damage assessment has to be conducted. He will be in West Virginia at least a week-and-a-half helping conduct that assessment.
Tommy Puckett, director of men’s ministries with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said he is already seeking construction teams to assist in the rebuilding.
“I am (also) enlisting several more men to go and do [damage] assessment in the other towns affected by the floods,” he said. (TAB)
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