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The Harlan County Fiscal Court heard an update on the Presidential Disaster Declaration regarding a recent flood event which struck Harlan County along with many other Kentucky counties in February.

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley addressed the issue early in a recent meeting of the Harlan County Fiscal Court.

“I just want to talk a little bit about what’s gone on since we met at the last Fiscal Court meeting,” Mosley said. “We had a lot of flood damage throughout the county. As bad as it was, it still wasn’t as bad as it was in other counties.”

According to Mosley, many Harlan County residents experienced damage from the flooding.

“We’ve also had a lot of damage to county roads,” Mosley said. “There are a couple of slides that have occurred, some damage to parks, there has been damage that has been documented and assessed in each district.”

FEMA has set up a disaster recovery center in the Harlan County Courthouse that has been in operation for several weeks.

“As of yesterday, they had already engaged with 189 citizens who had registered with them for assistance,” Mosley said. “Of the 189 registrations, more than half of those have been eligible for some form of assistance.”

Mosley emphasized any resident who applied for assistance and had received a letter denying assistance, there is an appeal process available.

“I would encourage you to come to the courthouse and talk with them,” Mosley said. “It may be something as simple as some type of typographical error, so if you received a decision and you’ve been denied for assistance, I would encourage you to come by and speak with them about the appeal process.”

Mosley explained residents can apply for assistance online or in person at the courthouse. There is assistance available for personal property losses including appliances, clothing, home furnishings, tools required for work or school, and computing devices.

“If you are a renter and you rent property that had damage, renters can apply for assistance for temporary housing,” Mosley said. “This initial renter grant is for one-to-two-month periods and can be reviewed for further assistance.”

Mosley noted furniture and appliances provided by the landlord will not be covered under renter’s assistance.

“They also will help with disaster related uninsured or out of pocket medical, dental, childcare, moving and storage expenses,” Mosley said. “We certainly appreciate the state and federal agencies that have been here helping our people. If you were impacted by this disaster, we want you to know there is help available for you.”

Harlan County Emergency Management Director Stephen Lewis told the court the amount of assistance dollars approved for individuals as of the meeting was approximately $860,000.

“I think we’ve identified at least 12 to 15 sites that we’re going to pursue for FEMA funding,” Lewis said. “We’ve already had our preliminary assessments.”

Lewis pointed out there is a program available for people who wish to sell their property due to susceptibility to flooding.

“Anybody that wants to sell their property that’s in a floodplain…they can come and talk to the people here (Harlan County Courthouse) and they’ll direct them who to go to,” Lewis said. “They’ve got the option to come back at anytime all the way up to when they have a check in their hand.”

Mosley commented that the buyout program has not been available in Harlan County previously.

“That’s something that is new, we have never qualified for that before,” Mosley said. “We are still learning how that program works.”

Mosley noted to apply for the buyout program, applicants must do so at the Harlan County Courthouse.

According to a press release, the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is April 25.

Mosley added another update will be provided at the next Harlan County Fiscal Court meeting.

More information on applying for FEMA assistance can be found on the Harlan County Emergency Management Facebook page.