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WASHINGTON — FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to supplement response efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding beginning on April 2, 2025, and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population and to provide appropriate assistance to save lives, to protect property, public health and safety and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide, at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, under the public assistance program, will be provided at 75% federal funding.

The assistance is for all 120 Kentucky counties.

Jeremy Slinker has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal response operations in the affected area.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. –Beginning April 4, Disaster Recovery Centers in Kentucky will have hours and days of operation.

Friday, April 4, all Disaster Recovery Centers are scheduled to operate 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.Saturday, April 5, all Disaster Recovery Centers are scheduled to operate 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Sunday, April 6, all Disaster Recovery Centers are scheduled to be closed.The center in Simpson County remains closed through April 6.

Beginning April 7, working hours at all centers are scheduled to operate 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday.

FEMA representatives can explain available assistance programs, how to apply to FEMA, and help connect survivors with resources for their recovery needs. Representatives from the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance, the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will also be available at the recovery centers to assist survivors.

Click here to find centers that are already open in Kentucky. You can visit any open center to meet with representatives of FEMA, the commonwealth of Kentucky and the U.S. Small Business Administration. No appointment is needed. 

To find all other center locations, including those in other states, go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362. 

FEMA is encouraging Kentuckians affected by the February storms to apply for federal disaster assistance as soon as possible. The deadline to apply for

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FEMA Follow-Up Calls Lead to Millions in Disaster Assistance for West Virginians

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – FEMA recovery efforts likely conjure images of safety vests and disaster sites. But a significant recovery effort in the past 10 months under FEMA reforms now includes headsets, mobile phones and office cubicles.

Staff from FEMA’s Enhanced Applicant Services (EAS) work from call centers eight hours a day, six days a week to follow up on applications submitted after a federal disaster is declared.

In West Virginia, EAS specialists have been calling survivors to check on the status of their applications, identify issues that could be slowing the process, discover additional assistance for which they may be eligible, or answer any questions a survivor might have.

While the phone conversations might be simple, their effects have been profound. In West Virginia, which has had four federally declared disasters since May 2024, EAS outreach has led to more than $4.1 million in additional assistance. That’s nearly 12 percent of the $35 million helping thousands of applicants.

Just weeks into its latest disaster resulting from February 2025 flooding, EAS calls have led to more than three-quarters of a million dollars that otherwise would have been left on the table for more than 1,000 state residents – already the highest rate of the four disasters declared.

Those millions of disaster dollars helping West Virginians are the

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