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After counties in West Virginia were hit with deadly flash floods this past weekend, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston on June 18 called for prayers and announced a special collection to support victims and recovery efforts.
Sudden severe rain hit Ohio County on the evening of June 14 and caused flooding in the local mountainous area and in the town of Triadelphia, according to Fox Weather. The flooding killed at least eight people, five of whom lived in Triadelphia.
In a June 18 statement, the diocese, which is statewide, called for prayers for those most affected by the natural disaster.
“Let us come together now to support our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been injured and lost their homes, cars, employment, and access to food and water,” the diocese urged.
The special collection will be taken up at all parishes and missions on the weekends of June 28-29 and July 5-6, and the proceeds will be managed by the Catholic Charities West Virginia (CCWV).
According to the statement, the collection will be distributed in the following order of priority: parishes who are directly assisting victim families, CCWV regional staff’s short-term recovery efforts for victims, CCWV’s partner agencies’ aid to affected residents, and CCWV’s long-term recovery, rebuilding and humanitarian work.
The diocese’s Bishop Mark Brennan commended the efforts of volunteers who have already stepped up to help in the wake of the disaster.
“The flooding isn’t, as insurance companies used to say, ‘acts of God,’” Bishop Brennan said. “It’s the people helping out whom God motivates to aid their neighbors, those are acts of God through His human creatures.”
