WHITESBURG, Ky. — Many families, neighbors and businesses in eastern Kentucky are working hard to salvage what they can after catastrophic floods devastated the region, including one special store in Whitesburg, Ky.
Appalshop is a local media and film agency that has been around since 1969, and works to preserve the area's rich Appalachian history. Many archives predate the business' opening.
Volunteers and workers are trying to get all of the archives out of the shop after their building was overwhelmed by high flood waters last week.
Roger May, operations director at Appalshop, says those archives are what make the shop what it is, giving a look into eastern Kentucky's past.
“It’s a collection point for the work that folks have done here for more than 50 years," May said. “It’s incredibly important that we preserve the work that we can. We know that there was a substantial amount of loss, we just don’t know yet."
He said the team is still working to assess how bad the damage to the agency's archives is.
May says despite their own issues at the shop, he’s most concerned about making sure his community is getting the help they need.
For anyone looking to help out victims of the eastern Kentucky floods, you can donate through the Appalshop's website to help people in and around their community.
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