By Associated Press
Paducah, KY – Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has requested a presidential disaster declaration to seek federal assistance for counties hard-hit by recent flooding.
During a stop in Paducah on Thursday morning to tour flood-damaged areas, Beshear said he made the request to President Barack Obama.
"Every agency of state government is fully engaged in assisting people in this commonwealth in every way that we can," Beshear said from McCracken County's emergency operations center.
The governor has estimated damages from flooding, storms and tornadoes at $34 million and climbing. He says the state has reached the threshold needed to start the process of requesting federal damage assistance. So far in Kentucky, one death has been attributed to the storms and flooding.
Beshear says counties will be added to the declaration as damage assessments are made. The governor also had plans Thursday to visit Smithland and other Ohio River towns where residents are dealing with slowly rising water levels.
Beshear has said the financially strapped state would make sure that residents in hard-hit areas get the help they need. He said the first priority of government is the welfare of its citizens, and that his administration will find the money somewhere. A statement from Beshear's office said so far 48 Kentucky counties and 17 cities have declared states of disaster.
"We're obviously going to have a lot of property damage," Beshear said.
In McCracken County, 22 families have been evacuated from their homes by rescue workers, while others have left voluntarily, county emergency management director Paul Carter said.
"If we get two more foot rise on the river, we'll have more people having to leave," Carter said. The Ohio River was at 50.4 feet in Paducah on Thursday, and it is expected to crest at 52.5 feet on Tuesday. The last time the river there reached 52 feet was in 1997.
Beshear said he would also ask the U.S. agriculture secretary to declare a separate disaster in Kentucky to provide assistance for farmers who had crops ruined by flooding.
State police said an off-duty police officer with the Mayfield Police Department was killed Wednesday when his car hit a pool of water and slammed into a utility pole. The death of 30-year-old Andrew Washington of Murray was the first confirmed fatality in the state resulting from more than a week of severe weather and flooding.