BOONE -- Samaritan’s Purse staff are on the ground now and volunteers will be at work starting Tuesday in response to the devastation caused by recent flooding in West Virginia.

Residents of 44 West Virginia counties are reeling from property loss and the loss of loved ones swept away by waters that also destroyed bridges and roadways. Whole houses were reportedly carried away with people inside. The area received more rain on Monday, June 27.

A Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief Unit—a truck stocked with supplies so that staff and volunteers can help homeowners clean up—is now based in Greenbrier County, one of the hardest-hit areas. An equipment trailer, shower trailer, and supply trailer have also arrived at host church, RHEMA Christian Center, in Lewisburg. Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are also on the ground assisting with this response.

More than nine inches of rain in eight hours saturated the mountainous region causing streams and rivers to swell and overflow their banks. Last week’s catastrophic event was the state’s third-deadliest flooding on record.

“We’ve had high water from time to time, but I don’t remember houses being knocked off their foundations and all the devastation,” one homeowner said. “It’s really unbelievable.”

The current death toll stands at 23. Thousands are still without electricity.

On Saturday, President Barack Obama declared three counties as federal disaster areas: Greenbrier, Nicholas, and Kanawha. More may be added.

“This is a tough scene. This is a difficult task,” said Tim Haas, manager of U.S. Disaster Relief. “We ask you to pray for this community and we’d also ask you to pray for Samaritan’s Purse staff and the volunteers who will come to help these homeowners mud-out these houses. There are hundreds of homes that have been flooded.”

(Courtesy, Bill Fisher, GoBlueRidge.Net/High Country Radio News)