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Sunday, Jun. 07, 2009

Weeks after floods, counties are struggling

FLOOD RECOVERY IN E. KY. COULD TAKE YEARS, OFFICIALS SAY

PIKEVILLE — Some counties are still hovering in a state of emergency, with residents cut off by damaged roads or relying on charity and friends for housing and food, nearly a month after storms, and flooding, one disaster responder said.

Long-term recovery might take 18 months to two years, or longer, considering how long the initial response has taken in some counties, like Brathitt, said the Rev. Al Hughes, a United Methodist disaster team response coordinator from Inez.

Some large federally funded projects from 1997 flooding took 10 years or more to be fully inspected, with payments closed out, said buddy Rogers, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.

The initial emergency for the flooding that followed the May 9 storms is over, Rogersa said, and there's no way to tell how long the recovery process will take.

"Every disaster has its own lifespan," he said.

Governments and agencies in 22 counties will be applying for assistance to rebuild roads and other infrastructure, and some counties are trying to reassess damage to get individual assistance for residents.

Federal and state officials were in Magoffin County this week, adding up damage, trying to meet the FEMA threshold to provide grants and loans to home and business owners.

"We're certainly praying that we do" get individual assistance, Magoffin Judge-Executive Charles "Doc" Hardin said.

Now that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are in the area, some non-profits, such as Red Cross, will step back.

The Red Cross national response teams are finishing up with their individual clients, said Bluegrass chapter spokesman Winn Stephens. "Once that happens, we'll be leaving the area."

He said Red Cross spent about $600 to $700 on each family it helped with food, temporary housing and clothes.

As of Thursday evening, FEMA had registered more than 2,100 individuals for assistance, approved $4.5 million in damages, and disbursed about $3 million, said FEMA public information officer Don Jacks.

He said officials were trying to debunk some myths and rumors. Only uninsured and underinsured property is eligible to be repaired or replaced by FEMA, he said, and it doesn't necessarily matter if you live in a flood plain — you still might qualify for aid.

FEMA and state emergency officials are holding meetings to educate county and government officials on the public assistance application process.

Delays in disbursement of previous disaster funds have pinched some counties' budgets, said Pike Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford at a meeting Friday. He guessed that the county was waiting on a large chunk of money from a 2003 flood repair project.

That's a sign that counties need to keep track of paperwork and follow up as projects are finished, said Nancy Price, government liaison for the Kentucky Emergency Management Department.

"There is a lot of money" from FEMA that never gets claimed or applied for, Price said, or it waits in state accounts much longer than it needs to when counties don't follow up with proper procedures.

Hit by four disasters in the last year — ice, wind, floods — the Emergency Management Department has more than quadrupled its staff and is doing a better job of reaching out to local governments, Price said, than it has in the past.

Every county is different, Hughes said. Its leadership, residents, geography, damages, all affect how long disaster recovery will take.

"It's not a clear-cut thing," he said.