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(UPDATE: 3:45 P.M. Aug. 5, 2022): Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has just announced Martin, Magoffin, Leslie and Whitley counties are also now approved for Individual Assistance through FEMA.

FRANKFORT, KY (WOWK)—Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear held a Team Kentucky press conference on Friday, Aug. 5 to give an update on the devastating flooding that tore through parts of Eastern Kentucky just over a week ago.

On Friday, Beshear said the death toll from the floods remains unchanged at 37 Kentuckians. Beshear says the fatalities include eight in Breathitt County, two in Clay County, 17 in Knott County, three in Letcher County, and seven in Perry County.

Kentucky State Police said Thursday they are still searching for two people missing from Breathitt County.

On Wednesday, Gov. Beshear gave an update on flood relief efforts in Eastern Kentucky. He said that those who lost some important documents in the devastating floods that tore through eastern Kentucky last week will soon be able to get them replaced.

The governor said he has signed an emergency order to help make it easier for victims of the floods in 13 counties to replace essential documents such as driver’s licenses and titles for free by waiving the fees required for duplicates of the documents. Those counties include Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike and Wolfe counties. He says the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will deploy driver licensing staff to help the area with a full range of licensing services.

Pop-up locations for the licensing services will be available at the following locations between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the designated days with no appointment needed:

  • Friday, August 5: Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, 75 Theatre Court, Prestonsburg, Ky. 41653
  • Monday, August 8: Pine Mountain State Resort Park, 1050 State Park Road, Pineville, Ky. 40977
  • Tuesday, August 9: Buckhorn State Resort Park, 4441 Ky Hwy. 1833, Buckhorn, Ky. 41721 

Emergency shelters for those displaced by floods are available at the following locations:

Courtesy: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

Those in need of travel trailers can find out more about them at governor.ky.gov/floodresources. To qualify, residents need to register with FEMA. Beshear encouraged everyone significantly impacted by flooding in the eight qualified counties needs to apply for assistance.

On Thursday, Beshear announced that Owsley County is now eligible for FEMA assistance.

Eligibility had already been granted to Pike, Floyd, Breathitt, Clay, Knott, Letcher and Perry counties.

Those who sustained losses in the designated counties can apply for assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).

Mobile FEMA registration centers will be open to help with applications for federal assistance and provide information about other disaster recovery resources. Here are the registration centers:

Courtesy: Gov. Andy Beshear

Disaster recovery centers have been opened in Clay and Knott counties to create a one-stop location for state and federal resources to serve flood victims, Beshear says.

These centers are located at:

  • Clay County – Onedia Elementary School located at 435 Newfound Road in Onedia, Kentucky.
    • Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Knott County Sportsplex located at 450 Kenny Champion Loop #8765
    • Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The governor also passed along a message from FEMA that receiving funds from a GoFundMe for something specific such as repairs or other aid could affect the applicant’s FEMA eligibility because the organization cannot duplicate benefits received from another source. Beshear says this means that if someone receives money from GoFundMe to repair their home, FEMA cannot give the applicant funds to repair their home because they have already received it from the GoFundMe.

Kentucky Power said approximately 23,000 customers lost power due to the storms. As of Thursday, Aug. 4, the company says power has been restored for around 89% of those customers. According to the outage map, approximately 1,250 outages are still in need of repair throughout the region.

Due to extreme heat in the forecast, cooling stations have been opened in eight counties, including:

Courtesy: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear

To report a missing person in the floods:

According to the Kentucky State Police, if you want to report someone in Magoffin, Johnson, Martin, Floyd or Pike counties, contact Post 9 Pikeville at 606-433-7711.

If you want to report someone missing in Breathitt, Perry, Knott, Letcher or Leslie counties, contact Post 13 Hazard at 606-435-6069.

If you want to report someone missing in Jackson, Owsley or Lee counties, contact Post 7 Richmond at 859-623-2404.

If you want to report someone missing in Wolfe or Morgan counties, contact Post 8 Morehead at 606-784-4127.

If you want to report someone missing in Harlan County, contact Post 10 Harlan at 606-573-3131.