The Findlay Flood

What started out as a dry summer has quickly changed. In the first two photos (you can click on them to see a bigger image), you see some of the devastation that occurred this past week in the Findlay area. On the day of the flood, Findlay did not get any rain, but it rained heavily in Mt. Blanchard & Ottawa which caused the Blanchard River to back up creating a flash flood. Some parts of Findlay had five to six feet of water in the houses & businesses.

Now...they are left with the daunting clean up process. That's where the next three photos come in. Yesterday a group of 23 people from my church (teens & adults) traveled to Findlay to help with the clean up. We were able to work on three projects (a restaurant downtown, a store near the river, and a home near the river). I worked at the home where we emptied their crawl space (which was jam packed). After the contents was emptied, it had to be sorted through...the trash items went to the curb & then items they wanted to keep had to be power washed (several of us came back very "damp" due to Paul's power washing antics). Although it was messy work, we had a good time and are very thankful for the opportunity to help out. (Did you see the picture of Marty grilling out for us? He's a man that comes prepared...brats & hot dogs!). :-)

Having had the opportunity to help in Bayou La Batre, Alabama twice after Hurricane Katrina, the sights & smells of yesterdays trip were all too familiar. My heart goes out to those people who have been affected. And just like Bayou La Batre was the "forgotten city" in Hurricane Katrina (so much emphasis was placed on New Orleans), I think that the smaller cities (such as Carey & Ottawa) have become the "forgotten cities" in this flood.