More than two months after severe storms, heavy winds, and flash floods ravaged Kentucky, President Donald Trump has cleared millions in FEMA dollars to help communities rebuild.
Trump announced Tuesday evening he’s approved $9.1 million in public assistance funding to go toward 20 of the hardest hit counties from two weeks’ worth of severe weather from June 17 to June 30. As of Wednesday afternoon, FEMA’s website did not yet list the storms as a major disaster declaration or share details for those interested in applying for assistance.
Gov. Andy Beshear initially sent a formal request for FEMA assistance July 23, which all eight members of Kentucky’s federal delegation quickly backed with a letter urging Trump to approve the funding.
At least six Kentuckians died in the storms, along with dozens of homes destroyed, and an untold amount of damage to infrastructure, the delegation told Trump in July.
“Volunteers along with state and local emergency response organizations have been working tirelessly to clear debris and muck out flooded homes,” the delegation wrote. “However, with the recent string of disasters that Kentucky has faced, many disaster response teams in the state are fatigued and overwhelmed. Given the substantial damage and the challenges faced by state and local resources, we believe Federal assistance is necessary.”
All of the FEMA funding is classified as public assistance, which means it will go to helping local governments and communities rebuild rather than individuals applying for themselves or their households. Beshear had previously requested both forms of assistance.
“This flooding event was devastating for our state, and Team Kentucky worked quickly to conduct damage assessments and request federal aid so that Kentuckians and communities affected would have the support needed to recover and rebuild,” Beshear said in statement Wednesday. “I am thankful that we have received the much-needed news that Public Assistance will be available for at least 20 counties.”
Eligible counties include:
- Bullitt
- Butler
- Clinton
- Cumberland
- Garrard
- Grayson
- Green
- Hardin
- Henderson
- Jackson
- Jessamine
- Madison
- Meade
- Mercer
- Metcalfe
- Ohio
- Owsley
- Rockcastle
- Spencer
- Wayne
“The Great People of Kentucky are resilient, smart, and tough, and I am with them all the way,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the funding.
Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican who represents some of the central Kentucky region hit hard by the storms, said he was “grateful” for the funding.
“I will always fight to deliver for the people of our Commonwealth,” Barr said in a statement.
Barr is currently running for US Senate, and had received Trump’s endorsement a few weeks before Kentucky’s May primaries. Trump used his funding announcement to also push Kentuckians to vote for Barr in the upcoming general election.
“Vote for Andy Barr — He has my Complete and Total Endorsement, and he will never let you down,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Barr is running against Democrat Charles Booker for Kentucky’s soon-to-be open Senate seat, which will be an open race for the first time in four decades after Sen. Mitch McConnell announced he will be retiring at the end of the year.
