Caldwell, Christian and Trigg counties are among 35 counties across the state that could receive federal assistance after Governor Matt Bevin sent a letter Tuesday requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration due to damages caused by severe weather events beginning on February 21. Governor Bevin sent the letter to President Donald Trump making the request after the weather pattern produced torrential rain that resulting in flooding, landslides and mudslides, along with intense thunderstorms that led to flash flooding and tornadoes.
The weather system caused over $24.7 million in damages statewide, according to a release, with 75 percent of that total related to highways, bridges and local infrastructure. Four Kentuckians lost their lives during the event, along with many injuries.
Governor Bevin says the requested Presidential Disaster Declaration will provide more than one-quarter of Kentucky’s counties with federal assistance as they recover from widespread severe storms and flooding in recent weeks. He adds that these events came on the heels of severe flooding across Eastern Kentucky in February, and he hopes that this Declaration will yield much-needed assistance for community residents and local governments across the state.
Since 2009, state officials report the state has been granted 19 federally declared disasters as a result of severe weather and flooding events. The Commonwealth is currently awaiting a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decision on a previous Disaster Declaration request for 22 Eastern Kentucky counties that were impacted during a severe flooding event in mid-February.
On February 24, an EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 135 mph ripped through Christian County and damaged several businesses on Fort Campbell Boulevard, Skyline Drive and Pembroke Road along with damages to the Malcolm Oatts Farm at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and U.S. 68. The EF-2 tornado also damaged and destroyed buildings in the Eagle Crossing apartment complex where a total of nine people were injured by the storm, with three taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center.
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