WHEELING — Nearly a week after flash floods swept through Ohio County, residents and business owners continued cleanup efforts Friday in what is sure to be a long and arduous journey back to normalcy.

Eight people perished in the flooding, which has been described as one of the worst natural disasters in the area’s history. The sheer destruction and power of the water remains evident throughout neighborhoods and along rural highways, where debris still litters the riverbank and roadways. West Virginia National Guard members are pitching in with cleanup efforts.

Despite the devastation, residents are breathing a sigh of relief now that the potential for additional precipitation has abated. The focus, instead, has shifted not just to cleanup and recovery efforts, but to gratitude for the outpouring of assistance from the community.

“We’re still trying to get things organized and cleaned up, but it’s rolling together so smoothly and so easily,” said Tamara Lawhorne, who lives on Middle Creek Road in Elm Grove. “I don’t need anything. And, the people in the community have taken care of us, bringing us lunch and just driving back and forth to see if we need anything.”

Lawhorne and her family were asleep Saturday night when floodwater swept through. She said she was awakened by a firefighter at about 9:30 p.m., screaming for them to get out of their house, which sits less than 25 yards from Little Wheeling Creek.

“It was only halfway up through the yard,” she said. “By the time we got our shoes (on), we had to go out the back door and climb the hill up here in the back with our neighbors. We stood there all night until the water receded … at probably 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning.”

“I was in shock,” Lawhorne added. “I can’t even tell you what was going through my mind. It was crazy.”

Lawhorne said she and her family were lucky, as the floodwater didn’t reach the main floor of their home.

“It was three steps from the main floor of the basement,” she noted. “Our basement got wiped out, our sheds, our garage … we lost all our cars, but we didn’t lose our lives. I feel extremely blessed — extremely. We didn’t lose anything but stuff, and stuff can be replaced.

“The outpouring in this community is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in my life,” Lawhorne said as emotions came pouring out. “The love you feel (in this community) is totally amazing.”

West Virginia National Guard Team 6 spent the majority of Friday afternoon on Middle Creek Road assisting Lawhorne and her neighbors with debris removal. Several large military trucks, along with a small backhoe, were used to haul away items damaged in the flood.

“We are handling this whole strip (of Middle Creek Road) today,” said Sgt. Julian Fonseca. “We are waiting on our three dumps (trucks) to come back. We are going to work on cleaning this up as best as we can today. We will probably be somewhere else tomorrow.”

Fonseca said his unit was activated for a single week; however, he estimates the cleanup will take much longer with additional orders potentially forthcoming.

Lumber Avenue in Elm Grove was hit particularly hard as Wheeling Creek knocked homes from their foundations and filled basements, scattering debris throughout the neighborhood.

Jenna Pickens and her family were making a late dinner when the chaos began.

“I looked out the window just by chance,” she said. “I saw the creek was really, really high. I just started panicking and grabbed my husband, Logan, … and said I just saw a car float down the creek. There were people in it. He ran out and he was going to go help them, but by the time he got out there, they were already gone.

“By the time we came back outside, our whole entire yard was flooded with water,” she added. “It was that fast. We came back in the house and grabbed all of our dogs … and just ran.”

The speed of the flash flood, though, nearly turned deadly for the Pickens family.

“We came out here and decided I was going to meet him at his mom’s house with my car,” Pickens said of her husband. “I couldn’t even get into it (the car) to drive it. We just hurried up and ran and got in his truck and left as soon as we could. Luckily, we all made it out OK. … (It’s) definitely terrible what happened here. We’re just thankful that we’re alive, because we know there are some people that didn’t make it out alive. We just feel so bad for those families.”

Pickens and her husband still are in the midst of gutting their house, which remains without water and power. The couple is staying at a hotel in the meantime, traversing back and forth to continue the grueling work.

Across from the Pickens family on Cecil Street, Jimmy Briggs was on his front porch when floodwater began to rise.

“It happened within minutes,” he said as he pointed to a spot about 6 feet high on his house where the water reached. “There were cars flipping over. I was out on the porch waiting for the rescue boat, which got here about midnight (Sunday). Hot water tanks were flipping out of basements and floating down the creek. It was a total nightmare, total ruination.”