Presidential declaration ‘really good’ for area counties, officials say
Members of W.R. Castle Fire and Rescue evacuated homeowners on Ky. 581 near Boyd Branch during flooding in Johnson County in late February and early March. A presidential disaster declaration. Friday will allow homeowners affected by flooding. in Johnson, Floyd, and Martin counties to get federal assistance to repair their damage. Photo/W.R. Castle Fire and Rescue
By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor
LOUISA — Federal assistance is coming to communities and individuals in the Big Sandy region affected by devastating flooding in late February and early March.
President Joe Biden on Friday approved Gov. Andy Beshear’s request for assistance for both individuals and local governments that were victims of the flooding.
The presidential declaration allows individuals and households in nine counties, including Johnson, Floyd and Martin, to apply for federal assistance to repair their damaged property.
Public assistance for local governments will also be available to 25 counties, including Lawrence, Johnson, Floyd and Martin.
Johnson County Judge-Executive Mark McKenzie said Biden’s disaster declaration is “really good” for his county, which suffered some of the worst flood damage in Kentucky.
“We know that from the beginning that we had first responders, we had emergency management, we had volunteers, we had neighbors who helped neighbors that got us on the path to recovery,” McKenzie said. “This declaration from the federal level will just continue those efforts to recover in our community.”
The National Weather Service said the most significant flooding along the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River occurred in the Johnson County seat of Paintsville, where the river crested at 39.74 feet March 1. That was the highest level since 40.35 feet on May 9, 1984, according to the agency.
McKenzie urged residents to visit the Paintsville/Johnson County Emergency Management Facebook page for information on applying for assistance.
Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams said more than 300 homes in his county were affected by the flooding.
“We had two-hundred homes that had water in the house at some level,” Williams said. “So, this is great for us. We certainly want to thank Governor Beshear for going to bat for us on our behalf. This is going to be big and help our community and our folks to get back on their feet.”
In Martin County, Judge-Executive Victor Slone said information about federal financial help will be available on the Martin County EMS and Fiscal Court Facebook pages as it becomes available.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank EMS Director Eric Jude for his hard work and his role in getting the information to FEMA and making this happen,” Slone said. “As well as the magistrates and many other volunteers in the affected areas who went to work doing individual assessments. The magistrates and volunteers completed 184 individual assessments. These numbers were key in getting individual assessments for those affected by the flooding. Magistrates also recorded 99 assessments for public assistance totaling $1.09 million dollars for flood damage to our roads and bridges.”
From Feb. 26 to March 1, Kentucky experienced some of the greatest one-day and three-day winter rainfall totals in history, exceeding seven inches in several Southcentral and Southeastern Kentucky counties. Flooding occurred on the Big Sandy, Green, Kentucky, Licking, Ohio, Rolling Fork and Mississippi rivers. State roads in 21 counties closed due to flooding, mudslides and pavement breaks.
For information about disaster assistance, visit diasterassistance.gov.