BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Despite being widely ignored by the national mainstream media and running short on donations and federal aid, some Louisiana flood victims will soon find refuge thanks to a small, Pennsylvania town.
In West Hazleton, PA, volunteers are doing everything they can to help Americans across the country for flood victims they will likely never meet.
Former Hazleton volunteer firefighter John Jones is now a fire chief in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. After his department and other first responders were wiped out by unprecedented flooding in the region, he put a call in to his friends in Hazleton, according to WNEP 16 News.
“He would do the same thing for us if there was something devastating in our area,” said the Hazleton Fire Chief Scott Kostician of Jones’ request for help. “Thank God Mother Nature is good to us and we don’t see those types of natural disasters in our area.”
Jones apparently told Kostician “I didn’t ask for help for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Gustav, but I need it now,” in a phone message.
The town is sending truck-loads of supplies to the state, according to WNEP 16.
Inside a week, every fire department started collecting donations for the flooded region.
“Two trucks are filled with clothes, furniture, and nonperishable food items,” WNEP reported.
“When I asked for help, I was just expecting a little bit. Any little thing from the Hazleton area would’ve been phenomenal,” Jones told WNEP after hearing of the massive help effort in the small community. “We are truly, truly overwhelmed.”
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you,” Jones said. “You don’t know what it means.”
More than 60,000 homes have been destroyed and at least 13 people died in the historic flooding in the state, with tens of thousands of residents displaced following the wreckage.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.