Lewis County To Buy 13 Flood-Damaged Homes With $399,335 In Federal, State And Local Funding
Release Date: February 2, 2001
Release Number: 1320-18
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Frankfort, KY -- Lewis County will receive more than $300,000 in federal funds to purchase 13 homes substantially damaged by flooding in February 2000.
The $299,501 is the 75 percent share of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) buyout project that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds.
Total project cost for the 13 homes is $399,335. State and local resources contribute the 25 percent non-federal share of the project.
"The best way to stop repetitive flooding to homes that lie in unsafe areas is to move them, raise them, or simply tear them down and let the sites become natural drainage areas," said Ronn Padgett, director of the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management (KyEM). "In this case, the most cost-effective way is to buy and demolish them."
He said homeowners voluntarily agreed to the purchase proposal because it would allow them and their families to move to safer ground, while removing the possibility of costly repeated losses to the same properties in future storm events.
The HMGP funding became available to Kentucky because the heavy rains and flash flooding in late February resulted in a presidential disaster declaration. The homes involved in the buyout were seriously damaged or destroyed by that flooding.
The properties to be acquired will belong to Lewis County and maintained as open space. No permanent structures will be permitted on the sites.
Last Modified: Thursday, 13-Nov-2003 14:44:55