GREENVILLE — More than a week later, floodwaters caused by Hurricane Matthew are still receding just 20 minutes west of Washington. Tuesday, Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas walked some of those areas devastated by flooding.

“There were neighborhoods that were very much in need,” Thomas said of the experience. “They may look like ‘the land that time forgot’ if we don’t get in there and help.”

Thomas has put out the call for help on his Facebook page with #OURMISSIONTRIP, an event described as “a massive community effort in the impacted areas” and encourages volunteers to “help these families pick up the pieces and clean up the yards, streets and their homes, lives and their faith.”

It’s a call to any and all who would like to help with the recovery, get a little dirty and make a huge difference in the lives of those who were displaced by flooding and now face coming home to the aftermath. The plan is for students, churches, businesses, friends, families, individuals and neighbors to meet up Saturday morning and head out to the six or seven Greenville neighborhoods that suffered most.

More than 600 structures in the Greenville area were impacted by Hurricane Matthew’s flooding: 80 percent of them are recoverable; the remaining are questionable, and some may have to be condemned, Thomas said. Three-person teams are currently canvassing every property and inspecting each structure in the mandatory evacuation zones Thomas declared as the Tar River began to rise. Over the weekend, the Tar River crested in Greenville at 25.1 feet; the last time the area saw such massive flooding was in 1999, after Hurricane Floyd.

Thomas said the idea for #OURMISSIONTRIP was spurred by his experience with an entire community coming together in the face of the past week’s adversity, and the hope is to continue that in the recovery effort.

“I felt called. Everyone — there was such a feeling of engagement of community, for fulfillment, and resilience,” Thomas said. “It transcends all borders and all differences, and that’s definitely been the case here where people come out and help.”

Thomas compared the impact that could be had right here at home to overseas mission trips in which many of the faithful participate.

“We often go on so many mission trips around the world, but we’re needed right here in our own backyard,” he said. “Our goal is to quickly address the issues within the formalized area of Greenville and then redirect elsewhere. … We’re all in this together, this is a region. … It starts here with a mission in our own backyard, and we hope that carries to other parts of the state —that everyone does a mission right in their own backyard.”

Thomas said one of the key organizations working on #OURMISSIONTRIP is Interfaith Clergy Alliance. Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, the cleanup effort will be staged in the Tropicana shopping center, directly across from Memorial Boulevard from Pitt-Greenville Airport. From there, groups will be directed to fan out to the locations where they are most needed.

Thomas said anyone from near and far is welcome to participate — and to bring supplies.

“We’d appreciate the help,” Thomas said. “We still have a lot of people that have been displaced and need help, and we’re going to try to lift them up and across the region as well.”

Planning is still in process, but those interested in attending Saturday can volunteer through the Interfaith Clergy Alliance website at www.hmam.org or call 252-717-9600, Thomas said.