Several feet of floodwater overflowing from the Lost River Cave system engulf the homes of Marshall Beach and the Oliver family on Cave Mill Road on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, after excessive rainfall throughout the weekend caused historic flooding throughout southcentral Kentucky. GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS

It has been around two and a half months since a multi-day weather event flooded much of Warren County. While assistance for individuals affected by the disaster has rolled in, local governments are still waiting for President Trump to approve a broader emergency declaration that would allow federal funds to reimburse response costs that are estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

“‘I’ve been trying for several weeks to get a good, clear answer,” Warren County Emergency Management head Ronnie Pearson told the Daily News. “At this point, it almost seems like it’s finger-pointing … .”

Kentucky was inundated with flooding the first week of April, which raised water levels in rivers, flooded roads and uprooted lives across the state. Locally, over 10 inches of rain fell. Over half of Kentucky’s 120 counties declared local states of emergency, including Warren County and the City of Bowling Green.

Municipalities can only access federal aid from FEMA after a formal disaster declaration is approved by the president. On May 16, FEMA arrived in Warren County providing aid to residents whose homes and businesses were affected.

However, a presidential declaration for governmental assistance has not been made.

By Pearson’s estimate, the city is coming up on $2 million in expenses for sinkhole mitigation alone. For the county, estimates place the number at “a million, if not a million and a half.”

“(Public assistance is) something that all the communities that were affected by the flood are anxious to see if it comes through or not,” Pearson said. “Sometimes, (with) smaller budgets of smaller communities, it has a significant impact, and they’ve either got to raise taxes or cut services for those dollars that they expended for the disaster.”

Recently, the Warren County Fiscal Court approved repairs at Basil Griffin Park for lighting equipment that was damaged when the park’s lake swelled.

The Bowling Green City Commission approved a $900,000 change order to its sinkhole mitigation contract with Scott & Ritter after a slew of the sinkholes opened up across the city.

Even with the delays though, local government is still hopeful that something could come down. However, other options are being looked at.

“We are exploring other options of having to reach into the county coffers and make these repairs,” Pearson said. “They’re all vital. They’re all places of recreation and safety, so they’re going to have to be repaired.”

Should aid not become available, Pearson said it could come to a point where the county has to “tighten the belt” on some services or institute “new programs,” since the money has to come from somewhere.

He said local government officials have been in contact with legislators in Washington to figure out what’s going on and trying to move the needle.

“They have been pushing,” he said. “They have written letters to the White House, but I don’t know that they’re getting a lot of answers either.

“We have to hurry up and wait.”