30 day snapshot

FRANKFURT, Ky. (WTVQ) – Just 30 days after President Joe Biden declared a major disaster for the Commonwealth of Kentucky following the Dec. 10 tornadoes and floods, more than $25 million in federal assistance has been provided by FEMA and the US Small Business Administration (SBA) to support disaster recovery. .

“FEMA and our federal partners are working closely with the Commonwealth to provide assistance to thousands of storm survivors as quickly as possible,” said John Brogan, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer for the operation. Kentucky disaster recovery. “Federal assistance is just part of the community effort to support Kentucky’s recovery from last month’s storms and tornadoes.”

According to FEMA, as of January 12, 2022, Kentucky’s recovery assistance includes:

• More than $9.6 million in Individuals and Households Program (IHP) grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in 16 Kentucky counties. These grants help pay for uninsured and underinsured losses and storm damage, including:
• More than $6.9 million in FEMA housing grants to help pay for home repairs, housing replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing.
• More than $2.7 million in Other Needs Assistance grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious storm-related needs, such as moving and storage costs, transportation, child care and medical and dental expenses.
• More than $15.5 million in long-term, low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration for homeowners, tenants, businesses of all sizes, and nonprofit organizations to repair, rebuild, or to replace physical assets damaged by the disaster and to cover the economic damages of the December storms and tornadoes.

The 16 counties designated for individual assistance in this disaster are: Barren, Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyons, Marion, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor and Warren.

According to emergency officials, the Commonwealth and FEMA have staffed and operated 18 disaster recovery centers in 14 counties that provide one-on-one assistance to survivors. The centers have had more than 2,200 visits from survivors. In addition, a FEMA mobile registration center is open in Marshall County.

• FEMA response personnel were on scene at the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center within hours of the storm. To date, more than 500 FEMA personnel have deployed on the operation to execute disaster relief and recovery programs in partnership with Kentucky.
• In the early days of the response, FEMA deployed urban search and rescue teams to assist with rescue actions. Other specialist teams were deployed to work on restoring power and assessing the debris.
• FEMA sent Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams to storm-affected neighborhoods in each designated county. These teams go door-to-door in hard-hit neighborhoods to help survivors seek help. DSA teams work with Commonwealth and local emergency managers to identify and deliver targeted outreach to underserved communities, visit homes, businesses and non-profit organizations to help residents register for help, identify and address immediate and emerging needs, and refer to other local, Commonwealth and voluntary agencies for additional support.
  • These teams provide information on resources available from federal and state governments, nonprofits, and the faith community to help meet immediate needs.
  • Nowadays, DSA staff have visited more than 5,400 housing units and more than 300 companies; they interacted with more than 6,000 survivors and recorded more than 1,500 households for the FEMA Individual Assistance Program.
• FEMA works to remove barriers to assistance, ensuring that all survivors have equal access to disaster relief and resources.
  • No one’s background or primary language is a barrier to obtaining financial assistance from FEMA. FEMA offers help in 75 languages ​​available through our call centers to help caseworkers and treatment staff provide customer service to non-English speaking applicants. Live operators are available by phone.
  • FEMA provides timely translation of information and resources in Spanish and several other languages ​​identified in Kentucky.

Public assistance

FEMA’s Public Assistance Program reimburses counties, Commonwealth, tribes, and certain nonprofit organizations for eligible costs of disaster-related debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair and replacement of facilities damaged by the disaster, such as roads, bridges, utilities including water treatment and power plants, government buildings and parks.

As well:

• The FEMA mission contracted the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to manage debris removal in Graves County. The Corps deployed 175 personnel. USACE estimates that more than 80,000 cubic yards of debris was removed from Graves County roads.
• President Biden has approved an increase in the federal cost share for the removal of tornado-related debris in Kentucky from 75% to 100% for a period of 30 days during the first 120 days following the declaration on December 12, 2021 The Commonwealth will determine which 30-day window best suits the needs. Twenty-three Kentucky counties are now eligible for funding under this program.

For more information on Kentucky tornado recovery, click HERE.