Disaster
10 homes dedicated in Mayfield for tornado survivors
Ten families who survived the 2021 tornadoes in Mayfield received keys to new homes on Friday thanks to $1 million from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, Gov. Andy Beshear’s office announced.? The Hope Initiative, a coalition of local pastors and businesses, partnered to build these homes and others — a total of 42 […]
Beshear confirms one weather-related death, renews criticism of GOP limits on emergency spending
Gov. Andy Beshear said a Kenton County resident died in a car accident as a result of the severe storms and tornadoes that swept Kentucky Tuesday, while emergency management officials have reported no other major injuries or deaths. Beshear in a Wednesday news conference praised emergency management officials, first responders and utility workers for their […]
Eastern and Western Kentucky rebuilding projects get House nod
FRANKFORT — A House shell bill was changed in a committee Monday afternoon to move millions of dollars from disaster relief funds into rebuilding projects in Eastern and Western Kentucky.? Twenty members of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted for the new version of House Bill 752. The bill was later approved on the […]
$300 million to help rebuild from flood is closer to reaching Eastern Kentucky with plan’s approval
Almost $300 million in federal aid is a step closer to reaching Eastern Kentucky to help rebuild from devastating floods, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved Kentucky’s 2022 Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CBDG-DR) action plan, McConnell announced. The ?plan determines how $297,994,000 […]
Floodplain buyouts in Kentucky are ‘the fastest in the program’s history’
When floodwaters rushed through the town of McRoberts in July 2022, Kimberly Sapp-Allen and her husband packed what they could in their vehicles, left their home that sat along the rising creek and headed for higher ground. The floods scoured several counties across Eastern Kentucky, including Letcher County — where Sapp-Allen lives. In the end, […]
State-run disaster relief funds had error rates below 1%, two reports find
Nearly all relief payments to Kentucky disaster survivors from state-run relief funds were made without error, according to reports released Tuesday, one by the Kentucky auditor and another by an inspector general in the Beshear administration. Republican Auditor Mike Harmon and the Office of the Inspector General of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet launched […]
Second worker dies trapped in collapsed coal-preparation plant in Martin County
The second of two workers who were trapped inside a collapsed coal preparation plant in Martin County has died.? Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a Friday afternoon post on the social media platform X confirmed the death. The Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper had identified the second worker as 57-year-old Alvin Nees, who had been missing after […]
Search continues for man missing in collapsed coal plant in Eastern Kentucky
The search for a worker missing in the collapse of an idle coal-preparation plant is moving into a new phase as rescuers who have been combing through the wreckage now plan to use heavy equipment to remove debris, emergency officials said Thursday. One worker, pinned under a metal beam, died Wednesday after being found by […]
Two additional ‘higher ground’ communities announced in southeastern Kentucky, bringing total plans to seven
Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration last week announced plans for “higher ground” developments in Floyd and Letcher counties, bringing the total to seven, as part of rebuilding efforts from floods in 2021 and 2022. The 92-acre Grand View site off U.S. 23 in the Letcher County town of Jenkins will have room for 115 homes partially […]
Report: Flood insurance cost a barrier to Eastern Kentucky recovery
The cost of flood insurance is a large recovery barrier for people living in Eastern Kentucky flood plains, says a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Researcher Matt Klesta reported what locals have said: Flood insurance is too expensive for most residents. Also, floods have made affordable housing problems worse and driven locals […]
Few in Eastern Kentucky could afford flood insurance. Now it costs even more.
Few in Eastern Kentucky have flood insurance or have ever been able to afford it. A federal agency’s new pricing system is putting it even further out of reach, jeopardizing eligibility for federal aid after future floods.? The cost of flood insurance is a major reason that Terry Thies is trying to sell her family […]
Almost $1.4 million grant will support legal services to Kentucky flood victims, hotline
AppalRed Legal Aid will use a $1,345,226 grant to add staff to help low-income Kentuckians still trying to recover from last year’s severe storms, floods and mudslides, according to a news release from the Prestonsburg-based nonprofit. AppalReD, or the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky, is one of 14 organizations around the country sharing […]