Disaster unemployment assistance available in 37 counties affected by severe April storms

FRANKFORT, Ky. – As cities and counties across the Commonwealth continue to pick up the pieces left behind from the deadly May 16 tornadoes, assistance is still being sent to those who have been impacted by the April floods that inundated large swaths of Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear expanded eligibility for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, or DUA, to individuals in 24 more counties across the Commonwealth that were put out of work due to the severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides.

President Donald Trump recently approved an amendment to a major disaster declaration that was originally approved on April 24, expanding access to 24 more counties including Hart, Muhlenberg and Warren counties.

This expanded assistance is for individuals who became unemployed due to the floods and self-employed individuals who were living or working in the affected areas and then became unemployed due to the flooding that began on April 2.

Applicants must prove that their employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the flooding and that they are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits under state or federal law. DUA is available to individuals for up to 29 weeks until Oct. 25 as long as the unemployment is still a direct result of the April flooding

To learn more about this assistance program, you can click here.