SAFE Fund established by Gov. Beshear and the General Assembly in August 2022
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 15, 2024) – Today, as part of his commitment to be with Eastern Kentucky flood survivors until every home and every life is rebuilt, Gov. Andy Beshear awarded more than $23 million to six cities, seven counties and one school board in communities affected by the devastating floods of 2022.
This funding comes from the Eastern Kentucky State Aid for Emergencies (SAFE) Fund established by Gov. Beshear and the General Assembly in August 2022.
“When I first visited after the floods, I made a promise that we would be with these families for as long as it took for them to recover,” Gov. Beshear said. “Less than a month after the floods, I called for a special legislative session to help speed up relief for Eastern Kentucky. I was proud to work with the legislature to establish the $212 million Eastern Kentucky SAFE Fund. Since then, we’ve been using this funding to help communities recover, and I’m excited to announce even more of these awards today.”
The awards will help the local governments and school board recover from financial strains caused by the natural disaster. The award amounts are based on requests by each entity and verified by the Department for Local Government for cities and counties and by the Kentucky Department of Education for the school district.
The Governor announced that:
- The city of Beattyville in Lee County will receive $350,000;
- The city of Booneville in Owsley County will receive $325,000;.
- Breathitt County will receive $3 million;
- The Breathitt County Board of Education will receive $3,316,777;
- The city of Buckhorn in Perry County will receive $500,000;
- The city of Fleming-Neon in Letcher County will receive $350,000;
- Floyd County will receive $2.5 million;
- The city of Hindman in Knott County will receive $750,000;
- The city of Jackson in Breathitt County will receive $400,000;
- Knott County will receive $250,000;
- Lee County will receive $869,319;
- Letcher County will receive $5,468,401;
- Owsley County will receive $350,000; and
- Perry County will receive $5 million.
“I would like to thank the Governor for the Eastern Kentucky SAFE award,” said Floyd County Judge/Executive Robbie Williams. “This award will help us to recover from the devastating floods that hit Eastern Kentucky in July of 2022. My office and staff are working daily to help our residents to get their lives back on track and this funding will help us to achieve our goal. Thank you, Gov. Beshear and Team Kentucky, for your continued support.”
“What an awesome job the Governor and our legislators have done with the Eastern Kentucky SAFE Funds,” said Perry County Judge/Executive Scott Alexander. “We could not have made it through this disaster without these critical funds. I want to give a huge thank you to Gov. Beshear, Rep. Chris Fugate and the General Assembly.”
“Thank you for this funding,” said Breathitt County Judge/Executive Jeff Noble. “After the 2022 floods, this is just a sigh of relief for everybody who lives in this area.”
Eastern Kentucky Flood Recovery
On July 25, Gov. Beshear provided an update on flood recovery as the state approached the two-year anniversary of the storms. To learn more, see the full release. On July 26, Gov. Beshear visited Wayland in Floyd County, Leburn and Hindman in Knott County, Hazard in Perry County and Jackson in Breathitt County to celebrate new homes and announce progress on high-ground communities.
###