Nearly 150 homes for Eastern KY flood victims could be built near Hazard on donated land
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Housing a key issue after Eastern KY floods
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A 50-acre tract of land in Perry County will be the site of Kentucky’s second higher ground community built specifically for victims of last July’s deadly floods, Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Tuesday.
The site is located five miles from downtown Hazard near schools, shopping centers and the Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center, a press release from the governor’s office said.
“Rebuilding on high ground is a chance to lift up entire communities with upgraded infrastructure and safe, affordable, energy-efficient homes,” Beshear said in the release. “But our work in Eastern Kentucky is not done until there is prosperity in the entire region.”
About 150 homes will be built as part of the first phase of the site. The land was donated by the Ison family and is a reclaimed mine site, Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for Beshear’s office said.
“This land is located near the heart of Hazard and can be a real boost to the community,” said Paul Ison. “There’s really no better use for such a great piece of land than to improve housing. Better and more housing attracts better jobs and a better future.”
The Hazard location is the second such higher ground community acquired by the state for flood victims. In December, Beshear announced that 75 acres of reclaimed mine land in Knott County would become the new Olive Branch community, which would include lots for houses of various sizes, senior apartments, a park and potentially an elementary school.
Funding for the homes in both communities will partially come from the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund, which has raised over $13.1 million. The state will continue to evaluate sites in Perry, Knott, Letcher and Breathitt counties which combined for 75% of the homes lost due to flood damage.
In the July flooding, 43 people died. Many of the most devastated communities were built along the streams and rivers that carve up the region’s distinctive narrow valleys.
The destruction also worsened a local housing crisis. By early November, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, had designated the homes of over 6,100 people as uninhabitable without repairs. Those displaced by the floods say there is limited options for finding new affordable housing.
“Perry County was in a housing crisis prior to the July 2022 flood disaster,” Scott Alexander, the county’s judge-executive, said in the release. “Now we are in a catastrophic housing situation. I want to thank Gov. Beshear and his team, as well as the legislators, for such a quick response to working with Perry County to help solve the housing situation.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 3:40 PM.
