Eastern Kentucky Counties Prepare Damage Assessments

Officials in several eastern Kentucky counties are considering asking for federal assistance following this week’s wind storms.Authorities in Whitley, Knox, Owsley, Breathitt and Letcher Counties are preparing primary damage assessments, or PDAs, of trees, homes and power lines that were harmed by Wednesday’s high winds.Division of Emergency Management spokesperson Buddy Rogers says those reports will determine if federal assistance is needed.“FEMA won’t go into any area unless they’re invited by the state, and that’s what these PDAs do," he says. "They try to get an estimate on the amount of damages and if there’s any types of qualifications that would be met for those counties.”All five of the counties preparing PDAs have declared states of emergency.