FEMA holds town hall meetings in Floyd County

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) - Flood victims in Eastern Kentucky trying to start over got a chance to learn more Wednesday about how to get federal help.

FEMA held town hall meetings at Floyd Central High School and Jenny Wiley State Resort Park.

Like so many others in Floyd County, last month during the historic flood, water got up high into Luecrecia Hicks’ home in Garrett. She’s hoping to get help repairing her flooring and was among those at the meeting.

“I just want to be able to get the floors fixed, to get some appliances back in, every-day appliances,” she said.

FEMA representatives say the main message they want to get across at this point is for flood victims to be sure to register for assistance.

“That way they can find out if they’re eligible for the resources available as they work through recovery,” Taronda Gibbons, an intergovernment affairs specialist, said.

Gibbons says many flood victims still haven’t registered with FEMA, which is one of the reasons the town hall meetings were held.

WSAZ has heard from some flood victims expressing skepticism about getting help from the federal government. FEMA workers say they hope to change that feeling.

“It’s very unfortunate people feel they’re left out,” Gibbons said, “but FEMA is here, and we want you to know we’re here to help. We have teams on the ground going door to door trying to reach people that may not be able to leave their homes. We have disaster recovery centers set up, and we also have mobile registration centers set up so residents are able to be reached. We’re trying to reach them any way possible.”

The Small Business Administration also had representatives at the meeting.

“We’re here to help uninsured and underinsured residents of the flood areas in Eastern Kentucky know they can come to us for a low interest rate loan to help repair their homes and their businesses,” Andrew Toussaint, a public affairs specialist with the SBA, said. “If they’re renters, we can help replace their belongings.”

Three ways to register with FEMA are calling 1-800-621-3362, downloading the FEMA app, and going to disasterassistance.gov

The deadline to sign up for assistance with FEMA is Sept. 28.

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