Editor's Note: Trimble County Emergency Management Director Andrew Stark shared an update Wednesday morning on assistance from the February flooding:

When Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) submitted documentation to FEMA for the February flooding, they requested Individuals Assistance (IA). The six counties submitted for IA was Henderson, Carroll, Trimble, Hardin, Jefferson, and Christian.

KYEM was informed yesterday that IA will not be declared for any of the six counties. KYEM informed local officials of FEMA’s decision today.

Unfortunately, this means individuals will not receive FEMA assistance to aid in the repairs and cleaning of homes damaged by the February flooding.

Original story

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Friday that federal disaster aid has been made available to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides beginning Feb. 21 to March 21.

Federal funding is available to eligible state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in Boyd, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Carter, Crittenden, Fulton, Gallatin, Grant, Graves, Greenup, Hancock, Hardin, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Jefferson, Kenton, Lawrence, Livingston, McCracken, McLean, Metcalfe, Ohio, Owen, Spencer, Trigg, Trimble, Union, Washington and Webster counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures throughout the commonwealth.

Manny Toro has been named the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Toro said additional designations might be made at a later date.

Assistance for state and local governments can include: Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health; payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities, as well as certain private non-profit organizations engaged in community service activities.; and payment of not more than 75 percent of approved costs for hazard mitigation undertaken by state and local governments to reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural or technological disasters.

At least 100 Kenyans have died and some 200,000 residents have been forced from their homes by multiple rounds of flooding and mudslides that struck the African nation in April, the Red Cross said.
The floods have caused a humanitarian disaster that authorities say needs an immediate response before it worsens, the Times of India reported. Residents told the Standard that flooding has cut off health care facilities, making them unable to reach.
"We would urge the national government to declare this a national disaster so that deliberate effort can be made and resources mobilized to help the affected people," Kenya Red Cross secretary general Abbas Gullet told reporters Sunday. "We need a national disaster management fund set up."
With many roads cut off, rescuers had to airlift more than 300 people to safety amid the flooding in Nairobi, the Standard also said. Several dams are also in danger of overflowing as water levels continue to rise, and officials fear even worse damage downstream if that happens, the report added.
As the disaster persists, there's another fear: illness. On both sides of Kenya's border with Somalia, refugee camps were flooded, and the conditions have officials fearful that a cholera outbreak is imminent, the Telegraph reported.
"Our staff on the ground have seen the elderly, women and children struggling to survive while their flimsy shelters are knee-high full of stagnant water," Victor Moses, Somalia country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the Telegraph. "With limited access to proper toilets and clean water, it’s a ticking time bomb for disease outbreaks like cholera and malaria."