Beshear: Louisiana to donate up to 300 trailers to house Eastern Kentucky flood victims
Much-needed intermediate housing is on its way to Eastern Kentucky.
The first of as many as 300 travel trailers donated by the state of Louisiana are making their way to flood-ravaged counties this week, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday morning.
“I just want to say we are really grateful. We’ve seen amazing helpers throughout Kentucky and throughout the country, and now we’re seeing Gov. (John Bel) Edwards and the state of Louisiana helping our people with critical shelter,” Beshear said. “Unfortunately folks in Louisiana know a lot about what we’re going through. They’ve seen the pain and the devastation of water pushed by hurricanes can cause, but despite all they’ve been through themselves, they’re helping us now.
“They’re paying the help that they got from others forward.”
Louisiana originally purchased the trailers following Hurricane Ida, which struck the state almost exactly one year ago. Ida was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the state since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and it killed more than two-dozen Louisianans.
Beshear said the first 65 trailers being moved this week are being taken to Letcher and Floyd counties, and more will follow to other flood-impacted areas.
“This is a huge help,” he said.
Kentucky’s only cost for the trailers will be transporting them and preparing them for new inhabitants, he said, which saves the commonwealth more than $40,000 per trailer.
“They are in incredible shape,” he said. “They are as nice as any trailer that we have purchased and it’s going to allow us to amplify this program significantly.”
Kentucky will pay for its costs associated with the trailers with money from the $213 million aid package passed by the legislature and signed by the governor last Friday.
Louisiana is seeking reimbursement for the trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Beshear said.
Late July flooding in Eastern Kentucky left 39 people dead and hundreds more without homes.
So far, 289 people have been moved into 119 travel trailers, Beshear said. Another 88 are on the way, he said, and should arrive by Saturday. Of those, 23 were purchased by the state and the other 65 are from Louisiana.
Beshear said the limiting factor is not the access to trailers, but finding access to safe sites with utility hookups.
