Trump approves expedited disaster assistance for KY as death toll reaches 22
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
President Donald Trump on Monday approved expedited disaster assistance for 10 Kentucky counties after widespread damage from flooding, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday.
Earlier in the day, Beshear had urged Trump to approve his Feb. 17 request for expedited assistance. “We’re at the point now where we really need a signature on that declaration because, you know, people are hurting,” Beshear said at a morning briefing.
Beshear also said the weather-related death toll had reached 22 in Kentucky. The latest victim is a man in Marshall County who died of hypothermia, Beshear said.
In afternoon social media posts, Beshear said Trump had approved assistance for 10 counties and thanked the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Beshear also thanked the Kentuckians in Congress for supporting his Feb. 17 request for assistance for individuals and local and state governments. All eight members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation last week sent Trump a letter urging him to approve an expedited major disaster declaration.
Beshear said acting FEMA director Cameron Hamilton is scheduled to tour flood-damaged areas in Kentucky Tuesday.
In his morning briefing, Beshear said by this point after earlier disasters, assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency had helped Kentuckians obtain supplies to clean up flooded buildings and fight mold. Individuals also can be eligible for up to $43,600 in assistance through FEMA.
Some Kentucky Republicans echo Trump’s complaints about FEMA after latest flood
Local governments need FEMA assistance to repair millions of dollars of flood damage to roads and water systems, said Beshear.
Trump quickly approved an emergency declaration after flooding swept Kentucky beginning on Feb. 14.Beshear said the president had to issue a subsequent order before FEMA could take the next step. “Actually getting FEMA members out into our communities to provide direct assistance requires a signature on this declaration,” Beshear said.
Trump has criticized FEMA and even talked about disbanding it. He has established a 20-member committee to review the agency and propose ways to overhaul its work.
Beshear on Monday said Kentucky “couldn’t have made it” through multiple disasters during his five years as governor without federal assistance. He said he didn’t think enough help had flowed through FEMA but “we still had tens of millions of dollars going directly to families (and) even more than that coming over to the state.”
This story has been updated with news that President Donald Trump approved expedited disaster assistance in 10 counties.
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