How to Help After the Flood, and Where to Turn if You Need It
Ways to help after the August 11 Confluence flood, including the Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund, and where to turn if you need assistance.
The water is receding, and the hard part is starting. If you came through Tuesday’s flood dry and whole, chances are a neighbor did not. Here is how to help, and where to turn if you are the one who needs a hand.
The most direct way to help is the Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund. It was created after the 2025 flooding and kept open for exactly this kind of day. The money goes to local nonprofits helping residents with cleanup, supplies and unmet needs. You can give online at cfalleghenies.org/fund/somerset-county-recovery, or mail a check made out to the Somerset County Disaster Recovery Fund to 216 Franklin Street, Suite 400, Johnstown, PA 15901.
Money is not the only thing that helps. Cleanup after a flood is long, muddy work, and many hands make it lighter. If you are able and want to pitch in, check with the Confluence and Addison fire departments and local churches, which tend to become the hubs for organizing volunteers and handing out supplies. Specific needs will come into focus over the next few days, and we will pass them along as we hear them.
One word of caution. After a disaster, scams follow the water. Give to established funds and known local organizations, not to strangers or unfamiliar online fundraisers. And please do not go sightseeing in flooded areas. Emergency crews have enough to do without pulling gawkers out of trouble.
If you are the one who needs help, you are not alone, and there is no shame in asking. Start with the Somerset County Emergency Management Agency for immediate concerns. Dialing 211, the statewide help line, can connect you with disaster assistance, food and shelter. Your fire department and your church are good first calls, too. Neighbors help neighbors here, but only if they know you need it.
Confluence has been through this before, and it will get through it again, the way it always does. Together. Check on the people around you, especially the older folks and anyone living alone. We will keep this page updated as more help and more needs come to light.
