WASHINGTON — Kentucky’s recovery from last weekend’s historic tornado outbreak will take “months if not years,” and cost “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to public officials and experts who are still assessing the full scale of the loss and damage.
“Tens of thousands are still dealing with water, gas or power outages. Families are in shock and grief over the loss of loved ones,” said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday. “Rebuilding the areas of Kentucky leveled by this storm will take months, if not years, to complete.”
On Monday, Gov. Andy Beshear said he expected the price tag of a full recovery to be “in the hundreds of millions of dollars at least.”
But the exact amount won’t be known for a while, as government officials and emergency workers continue to focus on searches for the more than 100 who are still missing and providing shelter, food and medical attention to those who have been displaced. The death toll in Kentucky remains at 74.
McConnell reported that at Fort Campbell, FEMA has already supplied 61 generators, 74,000 meals, 135,000 liters of water and thousands of cots and blankets.
“Kentucky will come back from this bigger and better than ever before,” McConnell said. “I will make sure the Senate provides all the assistance we can to make that a reality.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told NPR that food, water, communications and shelter were the primary needs of Kentucky residents following his visit to the state.
“We have been going family to family, individual to individual to learn what has happened to each individual and what we can do about it,” Mayorkas said. But he cautioned that several of the hardest hit portions of western Kentucky will require patience for long-term rebuilding efforts.
“Homes need to be rebuilt, schools need to be operating once again, businesses need to be rebuilt and restarted. It really means building a community from the ground up,” he said.
The White House said it has invited the entire Kentucky delegation to fly on Air Force One with President Joe Biden when he travels to the commonwealth to survey the aftermath Wednesday.
In the meantime, private nongovernment entities are also stepping up. Jose Andres, the Washington-based, Spanish-born chef, quickly deployed his World Central Kitchen to provide meals for survivors and first responders.
The kitchen whipped up hot breakfast in Dawson Springs and has mobilized food trucks in Mayfield.
“One of the ways we’re able to reach so many people in such a decentralized disaster is through a lot of our partners. We’ve got about 25 food trucks and restaurants providing meals today. That’s in addition to the two World Central Kitchen food trucks that are cranking, cooking food. A lot of that food is then getting delivered out to more rural areas,” said Sam Bloch, the director of field operations at World Central Kitchen, on his Twitter feed.
Sen. Rand Paul said his reelection campaign would donate $100,000 to charities, including the Mayfield Graves County tornado relief fund, Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief, Relevant Church, Redemption City Church, Hotel Inc. and the United Way of Southern Kentucky.
Paul, who has previously voted against disaster relief packages for New York, Puerto Rico and Texas, was quick to request federal aid for his home state, sparking charges of hypocrisy from his critics.
Paul’s likely Democratic opponent next year, Charles Booker, has visited Bowling Green to deliver groceries and water and stopped in Barnsley to comfort storm victims.
Biden’s disaster declaration will allow the state to apply for reimbursement of 75% of eligible expenses, which will multiply over time. The eight counties covered are Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, Taylor and Warren.
In the immediate days and weeks, that will allow the state, designated county and local governments to provide congregant housing, shelters and hotels for people who have lost their homes or who have been displaced due to extensive damage.
But that will only be tenable for the short-term.
Many people will likely need to apply for individual FEMA assistance, which could be tens of thousands of dollars, depending on one’s circumstance. The fastest way to apply is to go to DisasterAssistance.gov.
But according to Daniel Kaniewski, a former deputy administrator at FEMA who is now a managing director at Marsh McLennan, only those without insurance can qualify for such assistance.
“Think of FEMA’s individual assistance program as essentially a safety net program,” Kaniewski said. “Those with homeowners or renters insurance are not eligible for FEMA programming. Insurance will help you recover more quickly and more fully than the FEMA programs ... It’s always best to have insurance.”
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(Francesca Chambers contributed to this story.)
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