$95.7 Million Approved for Kentucky Tornado Recovery

Frankfort, KY– Nine months after the federal disaster declaration for Kentucky following the Dec. 10-11 tornadoes, more than $95.7 million in federal assistance has been provided by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration to support disaster recovery. 

That figure includes more than $15.8 million in housing assistance and other essential disaster-related needs and more than $59.3 million in SBA low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses.

FEMA Individual Assistance:

Sixteen counties were designated for federal assistance under FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program: Barren, Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Taylor and Warren.

• More than $15.8 approved for individuals and households, including:
  • Nearly $11.5 million approved for Housing Assistance
  • Nearly $4.4 million approved for Other Needs Assistance, which helps to replace essential household items and other critical disaster-related needs

Direct Temporary Housing

Currently, 80 families are participating in FEMA’s Direct Temporary Housing program in six designated counties: Caldwell, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg and Warren.

12 families have moved out of FEMA’s Direct Temporary Housing and into their permanent housing.

U.S. Small Business Administration

• 647 disaster loans approved for homeowners, renters, and businesses for nearly $59.4 million.
  • More than $50.2 million in home loans (585)
  • Nearly $9.2 million in business loans (62)

FEMA Public Assistance

Twenty-three counties are eligible for Public Assistance: Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Christian, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hart, Hickman, Hopkins, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Meade, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Shelby, Spencer, Taylor, Todd and Warren.

Under FEMA’s Public Assistance program, communities get help with the cost of repair, rebuilding and emergency work including reimbursements for debris removal, damaged roads and infrastructure.  For Kentucky, President Biden authorized 100% federal reimbursement for a 30-day period for eligible emergency work.

The program has 692 total projects, with 241 projects obligated, and has provided more than $20.6 million in reimbursements

• Of the 692 projects:
  • 93 for debris removal
  • 254 for emergency protective measures
  • 294 for permanent work
  • 51 for management costs

Interagency Recovery Coordination

Community Planning Capacity Building teams are still actively engaged in Western Ky., specifically the City of Mayfield and Graves and Fulton counties to identify long-term recovery needs.

The Interagency Recovery Coordination team has held two economic workshops in-person, and three virtual economic workshops targeting small businesses. They also have held two disaster housing recovery fairs where they brought over 25 service providers together to assist survivors.

For information on Kentucky’s recovery from the tornadoes, visit fema.gov/disaster/4630. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.