PIKEIVLLE, Ky. —The Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG) has selected Pike County as a recipient of matching funds for flood control in the amount of $575,740 as part of the Pike County Flood Recovery 2009 grant application.

The grant is in response to an application from the Pike County Fiscal County because of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) projects going on throughout the county. These funds are matched with $63,971 from the Pike County Fiscal Court and more than $10 million from FEMA and NRCS.

“This is a great thing,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford said. “I don’t know if another county in the state or even the country was as hard hit by floods as Pike County was back in May and June. The county, FEMA and NRCS have been working tirelessly ever since the flood in order to try and get our county back to normal and any money we can get to help us do that is a welcomed thing.”

More than 200 homes were damaged to the point they could not be inhabited in Pike County and 84 homes were destroyed, he said. Two schools were opened as emergency shelters. Over 20 county roads and U.S. 119 were impassable and nearly 140 county roads were badly damaged or destroyed. Over 140 bridges were damaged and many residents lost telephone service and all other forms of communication.

“We applied for this grant because the county has been working diligently to restore roads, bridges and other facilities,” Rutherford said. “Pike County remains committed to flood recovery and due to the significant damage, we are sought assistance with matching funds as required by the federal programs.”