Gov. Beshear: Disaster Unemployment Assistance
Available for Those in 6 Counties Affected
by Severe Storms in May
May 30, 2025
Kentuckians in counties that received federal approval
for Individual Assistance may be eligible
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 29, 2025) – Gov. Andy Beshear announced today that the state will accept applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) from individuals in six counties who are out of work as a result of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that occurred in Kentucky on May 16-17, 2025.
On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump approved part of Gov. Beshear’s request for a major disaster declaration in response to the devastating May severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes. The declaration includes Individual Assistance for Kentuckians in Caldwell, Laurel, Pulaski, Russell, Trigg and Union counties affected by the May storms.
The Governor will request that additional designations and counties be added to the declaration through an amendment as ongoing assessments are completed.
Individuals – including unemployed and self-employed individuals who were living or working in the affected areas and became unemployed or had work interrupted as a direct result the severe storms that occurred in Kentucky on May 16-17, 2025 – are eligible to apply for DUA benefits through the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance.
DUA is available to individuals who:
- Worked or were self-employed, or were scheduled to begin work;
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to their place of employment as a direct result of a disaster, which can also include the physical inaccessibility of the place of employment due to its closure by the federal, state or local government in immediate response to the disaster;
- Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income;
- Do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state;
- Cannot work or resume self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster; or
- As a result of the disaster, became the breadwinner or major supporter of a household because of the death of the head of the household.
In order to qualify for DUA benefits, claimants in eligible counties must show that their employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster and that they are not otherwise eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits under state or federal law. Farmers and other self-employed individuals who traditionally are ineligible for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits may qualify for DUA.
To receive DUA benefits, the federal program requires individuals to provide documents, including a copy of their most recent federal or state income tax forms or check stubs, a bill showing their physical address at the time of the disaster and a photo ID. All required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the date the individual’s DUA application is filed.
DUA is available for up to 27 weeks of unemployment beginning May 18, 2025, until Nov. 22, 2025, as long as the individual’s unemployment continues to be a direct result of the disaster.
How To File a Claim
Affected individuals should visit the Kentucky Career Center website at kcc.ky.gov or call 502-564-2900 to file their initial claim. The deadline to apply for assistance is July 22, 2025.
Updated information will be communicated on the Kentucky Career Center website and through future press releases with detailed information. DUA is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and benefits are not charged to employers.
Following the storms, the Governor urged local officials to start the federal Individual Assistance and Public Assistance damage assessments and asked Kentuckians who experienced storm damage to take photographs to document damages before cleaning up and to report those losses to their local emergency management officials.
Gov. Beshear also activated the State Emergency Operations Center and activated the state’s price gouging laws to protect Kentuckians from overpriced goods and services as they cleaned up from the severe weather.
