Flood damage on bridge - Aug 2 - AP File

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Another person has died as a result of the devastating floods in eastern Kentucky, bringing the death toll to 39.

The death comes from Breathitt County, but no additional details have been released. 

Gov. Andy Beshear provided an update on recovery on Thursday, saying the state is moving from the emergency phase to the stabilization phase.

"I see our response to this flooding in three phases: emergency, stabilization, and rebuilding," Beshear said in a news release. "This was the most devastating and deadly flooding our commonwealth has experienced in my lifetime. But the good news is, we are likely out of the emergency phase of responding to this disaster. Now we move into the stabilization phase, and then we can start rebuilding."

As far as rescues go, crews completed 1,334 rescues. The Kentucky Air National Guard rescued 338 people by air and 59 by boat. The Tennessee National Guard rescued 157 by air. Kentucky State Police assisted with 624 rescues, while the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife helped with 130 water rescues.

KSP said there are still two people missing from Breathitt County, according to Beshear. Those individuals include 60-year-old Vanessa Baker, who is missing from the Lost Creek Community. Her last known location was her home in the area of Lower River Caney Road. The other missing person is 29-year-old Nancy Cundiff, also from the Lost Creek Community, whose last known location was also at her home in the same area as Baker. 

State police are asking anyone with information about where the two women may be to call Post 13 in Hazard at 606-435-6069.

Twenty organizations in the area are providing shelter to flood victims, Beshear said, including state parks, churches, schools and community centers where 483 people are being housed. 

The state also transported 82 unoccupied trailers purchased in December for western Kentucky tornado victims to eastern Kentucky flood victims. The trailers were taken to two state parks and two campgrounds in the area.

Also in his Thursday update, Beshear said crews had removed 227 truckloads of debris from six eastern Kentucky counties. 

The flooding has forced more than a dozen school districts to delay the start of school as they clean up and assess damage to their schools. 

Beshear's Thursday update comes amid his criticism that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is denying too many requests for assistance in the area hit by flooding last week.

The governor is urging those getting turned down to take their cases directly to agency representatives in the region.

Offering the mantra of “appeal, appeal and appeal,” Beshear told people applying for disaster aid: ”Number one, do not give up. Number two, if you’re denied, go and look these people in the eye.”

A FEMA spokesman later said the agency “will get this right,” acknowledging the “bureaucracy can be frustrating.” Agency personnel are meeting with residents to help with applications for aid and documentation submissions, the spokesman said.

Beshear said he didn’t yet have figures reflecting the percentage of aid applications being denied by FEMA in eastern Kentucky. The agency has promised those numbers, he said, along with data showing why people were denied.

The governor and a Kentucky lawmaker from the hard-hit region offered examples of people in dire straits being denied assistance or offered inadequate aid.

“I talked to somebody whose 82-year-old grandmother was told at a site visit that everything was OK ... only to get denied later that night through an email," Beshear said. "It’s not right.”

Beshear is asking the commonwealth to join him in praying for Kentuckians during this difficult time. 

For information on how to donate to recovery efforts, click here. As of Thursday, more than $5.2 million had been raised. Beshear said Thursday that clothing donations are not needed, as they are overcrowding much-needed storage space.

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Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.