In News, State by OC Monitor Staff August 9, 2022

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced a flash flood watch will be in effect from noon today through 8 p.m. Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky.

“The weather for the next couple of days is a real concern. We still have many of our search and rescue teams on site in the Eastern Kentucky area waiting to get through this weather event that began at noon today and could carry through 8 p.m. tomorrow night,” said Gov. Beshear. “To the people of Eastern Kentucky, please be careful through the next couple of days.”

Slow-moving showers and thunderstorms will produce heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding. A cold front will move toward Eastern Kentucky through Wednesday. This will favor storms with torrential downpours, possibly moving repeatedly over the same locations. Isolated to scattered flash flooding is possible.

The Governor also updated Kentuckians on President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s visit to Eastern Kentucky yesterday and new Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. He also reported one new death related to flooding.

“Our challenges are how to move from emergency mode to stabilization mode,” the Governor said. “How do we get people in a safe spot where they can stretch out a little bit, whether that’s a room in one of our lodges in the state parks or a travel trailer? How do we address transportation needs that are out there? And how do we continue to push FEMA to say yes instead of no and help as many of these folks as possible?”

President Biden and First Lady Visit Eastern Kentucky

President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited Breathitt County on Monday. They joined a briefing on flooding at Marie Roberts Elementary School in Lost Creek, met with volunteers and toured a nearby neighborhood with major flood damage.

“This is going to be different. We are going to come back better than before. Not come back to what we were before, but better than we were before. I am confident with the Governor’s leadership that we can do it. We have the wherewithal to do it with the bipartisan legislation we have passed,” President Biden said. “We never give up, we never stop. We just go forward and that’s what we are going to do here.”

The Governor thanked President Biden for amending Kentucky’s Disaster Declaration to increase the federal share of debris removal costs and emergency protective measures to 100% for a 30-day period of the commonwealth’s choosing within the first 120 days of the declaration. To learn more, see the full release.

The Governor said there are 37 confirmed fatalities in five counties: eight in Breathitt; two in Clay; 17 in Knott (13 adults and four children); three in Letcher; and seven in Perry.

The total number of fatalities will rise to 38 after the loss of a Knott County High School student who died after assisting with clean-up efforts in the area.

Kentucky State Police reports there are two missing persons from Breathitt County they are still searching for after the Eastern Kentucky flooding:

There are still numerous cooling stations open in the affected areas. Visit governor.ky.gov/floodresources for more information.

Kentucky State Parks – 315 people housed

Individuals seeking emergency sheltering in travel trailers can find more information and register at governor.ky.gov/floodresources or call 502-234-1225 to register.

Locations are posted online through the Kentucky National Guard’s Facebook page and on Twitter.

Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund

To donate online, visit TeamEKYFloodReliefFund.ky.gov.

The majority of power has been restored in the flood-impacted areas.

The Department for Community Based Services issued 400 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program replacements, bringing the total for food replacements to 2,093.

The federal Emergency Prescription Assistance Program has been activated to help uninsured Kentucky residents obtain certain prescription drug medications or durable medical equipment that was lost or damaged in the recent flooding. Under the program, Kentuckians with addresses in identified zip codes may request a 30-day supply of covered medications in the program. There is no charge to people who qualify for the assistance.

Visit governor.ky.gov/floodresources for more information.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is working to rapidly replace the first batch of closed bridges that were destroyed or heavily damaged at 11 sites in Knott, Letcher, Perry and Pike counties. These are mostly in locations where the loss of the bridge left people with no motor-vehicle access to their homes. The cabinet is using existing and emergency contracts so the work can be completed as quickly as possible. The first step will be to construct temporary crossings with large drainpipes and hard-packed roadbeds while survey and design teams begin work on steel and concrete structures.

The Governor thanked the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Gov. John Bel Edwards for letting Kentucky borrow their mobile workforce center. The mobile unit is currently at Jenny Wiley State Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Wednesday. Additional locations for the mobile unit will be announced soon.

Residents in Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Whitley counties are now eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits and can file an application online through the Kentucky Career Center website or by phone at 502-875-0442.

The application deadline for all claimants has been extended until Sept. 6, 2022. To learn more, see the full release.

For a full list of Disaster Recovery Centers, locations that provide both state and federal resources in one place to best serve flood victims, visit governor.ky.gov/floodresources.

Unless otherwise noted, DRCs are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.

Today, Department of Revenue staff will be at the DRCs in Knott and Perry counties to answer questions from residents about their eligibility for sales tax refunds on the purchase of building materials permanently installed in the repair or replacement of structures damaged by flooding. Revenue staff also will provide information on income tax relief available to individuals and businesses included in the federal disaster declarations, as well as assistance on how to replace lost tax returns. Revenue staff will be at the DRCs in Breathitt and Letcher counties beginning Aug. 10 and in Clay County on Aug. 11.

The Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction will have staff at the opening day of each DRC to address permitting and inspection questions.  They will also have publications available from the Department of Insurance in the event people have insurance questions. Additionally, each region’s local building inspector will touch base with the disaster resource center staff during the day to address specific permitting and inspection needs.

Residents of Knott and Perry counties can receive in-person help with DUA applications at the following DRC locations from the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced yesterday that Leslie, Magoffin, Martin and Whitley counties are now included as primary counties in the disaster declaration in Eastern Kentucky for the severe storms and flooding.

Physical disaster loans are now available to businesses and residents of those counties.

The disaster declaration covers Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Whitley counties, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA. Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans. For more information visit the SBA website.

Complete List of Executive Actions

To see a full list of the Governor’s executive actions in response to Eastern Kentucky flooding, click here.