Disaster

Some ‘in limbo’ more than a year after deadly floods hit Eastern Kentucky

BY: - August 17, 2023

More than a year after four feet of water flooded her house, Nancy Herald still doesn’t know when – or if – she’ll return to the home that’s been in her family for nearly five decades.? Driving past the homeplace, even, is too painful. Sometimes she goes inside; sometimes she just passes quietly. And sometimes, […]

Biden asks Congress for $40B for Ukraine aid, U.S. disaster response, border security

BY: - August 10, 2023

WASHINGTON —? The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve more than $40 billion in additional spending for Ukraine, border security, FEMA’s disaster response and wildland firefighters pay. The supplemental spending request comes in the middle of Congress’ annual August recess, giving lawmakers weeks to mull over the proposal for additional spending before returning to […]

A man in a pink shirt stands next to a wall with the phrase, "Bardwell: A Community of Unity."

20 minutes — and a world of worry — away from the political theatrics

BY: - August 7, 2023

BARDWELL — Mayor Philip King has a problem. A flash flood on July 19 turned Bardwell’s Front Street into a river and dumped at least seven inches of water on city hall. Spending the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for repairs would be a waste, he says, because the building would just flood again, […]

5 Mayfield families get new homes as Western Kentucky rebuilds from tornadoes

BY: - August 4, 2023

Five Mayfield families were given keys to new homes Friday as the region continues to rebuild after devastating tornadoes as well as recent flooding.? Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined The Hope Initiative in bestowing the keys, a governor’s office press release said. The Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund gave $500,000 […]

After flood anniversary, Beshear says $2 million will secure Floyd County rebuilding site

BY: - July 27, 2023

The day after the one-year anniversary of devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced plans to provide 34 single-family homes to house flood survivors. Beshear said Thursday that $2 million in Community Development Block Grant funds will be given to the county to acquire two vacant lots — a total of 34 acres […]

Beshear cries ‘politics’ as auditor launches examination of disaster relief funds

BY: - July 20, 2023

FRANKFORT — State Auditor Mike Harmon’s office will conduct a “special examination” of the Beshear administration’s handling of disaster relief funds at the request of a legislative committee. The focus of the audit will be the Public Protection Cabinet’s administration of the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund and the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief […]

Donated site in Letcher County to house survivors of Eastern Kentucky floods

BY: - July 5, 2023

Local, state and federal groups are working together to secure housing for flood survivors in Letcher County.? The fiscal court of the Eastern Kentucky county previously voted to transfer about four acres of property to develop a small housing site near Whitesburg. The land has space for 10 housing units.? According to a recent news […]

Small housing site planned near Whitesburg could be first new one fully occupied by flood victims

BY: - June 7, 2023

Letcher County has given the state a 3.5-acre tract near Whitesburg to be used for a small housing development for victims of the July 2022 flood. It seems likely to be the first fully occupied such development. The site, known as the Marlowe property, is on Sandlick Creek, less than a mile outside the Whitesburg […]

Plans advance for rebuilding flood-prone Kentucky communities on ‘higher ground’

BY: - May 24, 2023

The state has hired two engineering firms to plan and develop housing at two Eastern Kentucky sites for survivors from last summer’s devastating floods. Both are on former surface mines, and Gov. Andy Beshear indicated that others could be announced soon. Beshear said last week that H.A. Spalding Engineers of Hazard will design infrastructure, including […]

‘Neighbors, heroes and leaders’ step up after last summer’s record flooding

BY: - May 1, 2023

HAZARD — How does one of the nation’s poorest rural regions recover from the most disastrous flooding some of its communities have ever seen? “Neighbors, heroes and leaders.” That answer was the three-legged theme sounded repeatedly by Peter Hille, chair of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation, at its annual conference in Hazard Thursday and Friday […]

How flood cleanup left Kentucky disaster victims feeling violated and vulnerable

BY: and - April 27, 2023

This article is republished from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. On a steamy day in August, Don Young dug through the rubble that used to be his home. He was desperately trying to salvage the most precious possessions representing the life he’d made in the Letcher County community of McRoberts. Floods last July ravaged […]

$124 million from feds will build hundreds of homes in tornado-impacted Western Kentucky

BY: - April 26, 2023

FRANKFORT — Kentucky officials are opening up applications this summer for almost $124 million in federal funding to help rebuild housing and infrastructure primarily in tornado-impacted Western Kentucky, which Gov. Andy Beshear said could help rebuild around 600 homes.? The federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will go to […]