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Tornado Disaster Highlights Urgent Need to Confirm SBA Nominee
Kentucky deserves a bipartisan, all-hands-on-deck aid effort from lawmakers.
The unseasonably late storm hit overnight on Friday, producing a swath of powerful tornadoes that ripped through several states.
Kentucky fared worst: As of Monday, 74 people in Kentucky are known to have been killed in the tragedy. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is warning that the grim number is likely to rise in the coming days. 109 people remain missing and rescue workers continue to search for survivors.
The state has suffered natural disasters in the past; but never before has so much rain fallen onto ground already inundated by disaster and hardship. COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc on daily life in Kentucky and on top of everything else, catastrophe and tragedy.
In spite of an outpouring of support from the Biden Administration, state and local authorities, and emergency aid agencies, the recovery process is likely to be a long one for the state of Kentucky. Entire towns have been devastated; families and tight-knit communities torn apart and displaced.
One somewhat unlikely U.S. government aid agency stands ready to help the people of Kentucky recover, now and in the months to come; the Small Business Administration.