President Biden declares federal emergency in tornado-ravaged Kentucky

President Joseph Biden declared a federal state of emergency Saturday afternoon in parts of Kentucky devastated by the wrath of deadly tornadoes and ordered federal assistance for the embattled state.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had requested the federal declaration and his request was backed by Kentucky’s federal delegation. Up to 100 people were feared dead from the severe weather and damage was widespread, particularly in Western Kentucky.

Biden’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate hardship and suffering on Kentuckians and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety.

His declaration covers the counties of Breckenridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hickman, Hopkins, Lyon, Meade, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Shelby, Spencer, and Warren.

Under the president’s declaration, the federal emergency agency is authorized to identify, mobilize,and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.

Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the federal agency, named John Brogan as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Biden told Beshear Saturday morning that he had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies to “provide the speediest assistance possible” to communities impacted by deadly tornadoes, The White House said in a release.

Biden expressed condolences to the governor for the lives lost and the devastation that Kentucky experienced from the severe weather, the release said.

This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 2:34 PM.

Jack Brammer

Lexington Herald-Leader

502-227-1198

Jack Brammer is Frankfort bureau chief for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has covered politics and government in Kentucky since May 1978. He has a Master’s in communications from the University of Kentucky and is a native of Maysville, Ky. Support my work with a digital subscription