Contractors hired to aid E. Kentucky flood victims left some feeling 'violated and vulnerable;' lack of coordination cited

Louisville Public Media graph from Kentucky Transportation Cabinet data; click to enlarge

For victims of Eastern Kentucky's record flash flood last July, surviving the disaster was one thing; now, some of the victims must overcome additional losses, wreckage debris and possible re-flooding from what state-paid cleanup crews did or left behind, report Jared Bennett and Justin Hicks of The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, part of Louisville Public Media.

Bennett and Hicks spoke with Don and Malissa Young of McRoberts, whose trailer was removed from its foundation and flooded. "For weeks [after], the Youngs had been working on packing up what they could from the inside: Baby photos, home videos, memorabilia from Don's time spent as a State Police officer. . . . Without any notice, cleanup crews ripped apart the home they had shared for nearly 30 years. . . . A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet official overseeing the cleanup process called Don personally and afterward told him to file a negligence claim with the state Board of Claims. They filed a claim seeking $400,000 to pay for the house and their belongings." The state denied any liability and a cabinet attorney "argued the couple's house was taken by an unnamed third party," KyCIR reports. "In fact, the response said the Youngs 'may themselves have been negligent in failing to remove or secure their personal property.'"

Don Young sits in rubble after clean up crews
demolished his home. (Courtesy photo)

The crossovers of state, federal and subcontracted employees failed flood victims because groups did not coordinate effectively, Bennett and Hicks report: "In a daily report compiled by several staffers, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers adviser wrote that even trying to get an accurate assessment of the amount of debris was hindered by 'too many coaches, not enough players.'. . . USACE advisors regularly expressed concerns about crews taking trees or other materials that did not fit federal criteria for debris removal after a disaster. . . . KyCIR heard from residents on multiple occasions that contractors removed debris such as valuable trees from private property without permission or cut half-mile long access routes through forests. It left them feeling overtaken and ignored by the very people charged with helping them."

A cabinet spokesman "said that cleanup crews were instructed to make attempts to contact property owners before starting the work," KyCIR reports. "Nearly a month later, the same work crew that demolished the Youngs' home was confronted with threats and resistance when they tried to cut down live trees they considered a hazard to future flooding. This time they tried the law-enforcement approach. A young, untrained police officer arrived on the scene to Tase and arrest the homeowner. . . . The homeowners had no prior notice or information about what was happening and the mission debris workers were on. Like the Youngs, they're also investigating legal remedies."

The Army Corps' early estimates "said the July floods created nearly two million cubic yards of debris in the waterways alone," KyCIR reports. "Justin Branham was one of the Corps staffers who wrote those estimate reports. . . . Branham said that most of Eastern Kentucky were in danger of flooding again because of debris piles blocking waterways." Records show that, within a week of the flood, the cabinet signed a contract with Florida-based Ashbritt Inc. to lead the cleanup. "Since August 2022, the state has paid the company $157 million . . . by the ton for debris removed."

As Branham warned, some areas have re-flooded. "Candice Fields, disaster coordinator for the Kentucky River Area Development District, said the help that does come is akin to a 'Band-Aid on a bullet wound,'" KyCIR reports. Letcher County resident Angela Collins told KyCIR that Gov. "Andy Beshear gets on [the TV] and says, 'Oh, things have changed.'. . . Well, get your high horse down here and see how much it changed because they left garbage! Do we deserve garbage all over our land? No, we don't. We're not a bunch of, you know, nutsy hillbillies. We're human beings just like everybody else."

UPDATE, April 29: KCIR reports that it "found around only 59% of the debris initially estimated to be on the ground after the flood had been picked up as of Dec. 22, 2022, when officials said cleanup was 'complete'."