Major Disaster Declaration Issued For Kentucky

By Charles Compton, Kentucky Public RadioPresident Obama has issued a major disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The declaration triggers the release of federal funds for communities flooded by last week’s torrential rains. But Steve Oglesby with Kentucky Emergency Management work says actually getting those federal funds could take a while.“FEMA is in state today and will continue to working in the days to come actually going to the counties looking at the damage suffered by the homeowners and the renters as well as the expenses it cost the government,” said Oglesby.The disaster declaration also means businesses can submit applications for federal loans. Oglesby can’t say how long it will take before there’s a final assessment.“We’re not going to rush this. We want to make sure we capture the appropriate information to help as many folks as possible, so it’s hard to put a hard, firm deadline on it because we wanna get it right,” said OglesbyOf the 80 Kentucky counties that issued emergency declarations last week, about dozen have been designated for assistance.