The Louisville Courier Journal published an opinion piece by Alex Gibson titled:

We are prepared for flooding here, but we were not prepared for complete destruction

He begins the piece as follows:

“Floods are a part of life wherever there is water, this is not surprising to us. The North Fork of the Kentucky River flows by the historic, iconic building of Appalshop at 91 Madison Street where we’ve been since 1982. Most days, the trickling fork provides an almost idyllic background noise, a fixture in downtown Whitesburg as people walk daily over it using the walking bridge, some taking a place to rest near it on a bench and enjoy a beautiful day.But water is not always so kind. We are prepared for floods - insurance, contingency plans, emergency response teams that know how to solve these problems quickly and efficiently - because we know that while water can be gentle and a calming balm to a busy day, it can also rip houses from their foundation and sweep people downstream in a matter of seconds.”

Click here to read the full opinion piece.

And click here for updates on Appalachian Flood Support news and resources.

Alex Gibson joined Appalshop in 2014 as the Executive Director. He was a Bonner Scholar at Berea College where he graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in Philosophy. Alex earned his J.D., Doctor of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2012.

Addition: Here’s another powerful essay from our Berea College colleague, faculty member and celebrated author Silas House, providing perspective about connections between the Eastern Kentucky flooding, increasing climate disasters around the nation and world, climate change, and reactions to people in impacted communities.