As tornado disrupts region’s tourism economy, Beshear asks Trump for expedited disaster declaration

An initial state assessment finds it could cost more than $59 million to clean up more than 1.5 million cubic yards of debris from buildings and vegetation damaged by a tornado that tore through Somerset and London last week.

That’s according to a letter that Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, requesting approval for an expedited major disaster declaration to help recover from storms across the state. The letter noted the damage and 19 deaths were primarily from an EF4 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 170 miles per hour that tore through Pulaski and Laurel counties. The letter also estimated around 1,500 homes have been destroyed or have sustained major damage.

“With just one day of assessments performed, and more assessments to be performed, the results clearly demonstrate severity, impact, and need,” Beshear wrote in his letter. “Without assistance, it is improbable that recovery will be fully realized.” 

Beshear’s letter mentions the estimate of homes destroyed or with major damage comes from comparing aerial footage with pre-disaster photos and records from county property valuation administrators. “That number can soar to over 5,000 when all impact levels are considered,” he wrote. 

The letter also details expected impacts to the region’s economy, which Beshear wrote “will be extensive and long lasting” with “many businesses severely impacted or destroyed.” 

“Laurel and Pulaski counties are situated in an area that relies heavily on tourism. Tourist season is just beginning and the area’s lodging inventory will be filled with survivors, curtailing the normal seasonal tourist income. It is likely that many tourists, hearing of this disaster, will opt to vacation elsewhere,” Beshear wrote. 

The governor also wrote more than 800 people are being sheltered in travel trailers, Airbnbs and motels following the disaster. Nineteen people have died as a result of the storms, almost all in Laurel County. 

Beshear in his request asked that residents of Laurel, Pulaski and six other counties be made eligible for  individual federal disaster assistance, which can provide individuals with money for post-disaster shelter and housing. He asked that 22 counties received public federal disaster assistance, which can help pay for infrastructure repairs.

In other areas of the country impacted by last week’s storm system, complaints have surfaced about Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials not being present or helping disaster survivors. The mayor of St. Louis complained this week about the absence of on-the-ground help from FEMA after a tornado there damaged thousands of buildings and killed five people. The storm that spurred the EF4 tornado hitting Pulaski and Laurel counties originated hundreds of miles away in Missouri. 

Beshear, a Democrat, has been critical of other actions and policies taken by the Trump administration. But in a video posted Wednesday to the social media platform X, he said he was “grateful” for the federal response to natural disasters in Kentucky.