FRANKFORT, Ky. — One month after historic flooding hit Eastern Kentucky, federal, commonwealth and local resources are working with Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin residents, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Whitley counties to help them start their recovery.
As of Aug. 28, 2022:
- FEMA has approved $53.6 million for 6,550 individuals and households, including rental assistance for 3,833 for homeowners and renters and $10 Million for other disaster-related needs.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved $27.1 million in disaster loans for 333 homeowners, renters and businesses.
- The National Flood Insurance Program has received 441 claims and paid $11.3 million.
“Every disaster is unique, and with that comes a set of unique challenges. FEMA’s willingness to be flexible within their regulations is appreciated and is necessary to continue to meet the need of Eastern Kentucky,” said Kentucky Emergency Management Director Jeremy Slinker. “Kentucky Emergency Management is committed to coordinating with all our local, state and federal partners to continue to meet the current needs, as well as initiating the recovery process.”
More than 800 federal personnel from around the country are on the ground in Kentucky, helping with flood recovery.
In Eastern Kentucky challenges include flood-damaged roads, bridges and access routes to many homes, preventing some survivors from accessing help or reliably connecting with FEMA. Applicants whose homes are isolated in these situations may receive a small initial payment from FEMA. This is to pay for them to get a contractor’s written estimate of the cost of repairing the tie road or bridge to allow access.
To combat these challenges, FEMA applicant services staff calls survivors to ensure every applicant who received a FEMA letter stating they are ineligible gets the one-on-one help they need with their application. To date FEMA has approved more than 2,700 additional applicants through this process.
In cases where FEMA housing inspectors were unable to reach applicants by phone or in-person three times, FEMA is sending teams door-to-door to meet with survivors where they live. The teams include Disaster Survivor Assistance personnel to answer questions about the process, a local official and a FEMA housing inspector to ensure an inspection is completed. These teams have provided face-to-face assistance to more than 600 Kentucky survivors helping them keep their recovery process on track.
FEMA continues to operate mobile registration centers, mobile Disaster Recovery Centers and six fixed recovery centers in six hard-hit counties. The mobile registration centers focus on helping people apply for federal assistance, while the mobile and fixed recovery centers can provide face to face assistance from FEMA, the Commonwealth and SBA. These centers have served more than 7,000 disaster survivors and continue to operate to assist those who need face-to-face help.
Eastern Kentucky flood survivors have until Sept. 28, 2022, to apply for FEMA disaster assistance.
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