When a natural disaster happens it is easy to lose track of everything that is important for our life. Seeing most of your worldly possessions be destroyed is traumatizing, and that is not helped by the fact that, in the aftermath of one of the worst moments of your life you then need to deal with an enormous amount of paperwork and bureaucracy that you are wildly unprepared for. The State of Kentucky has realized this, and they have now arranged to cancel the fees for some of the most important papers their residents need in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
For now, this is not a permanent perk that residents in Kentucky will have, but if it works as expected, it might become a universal policy of the State and it could even spread to other disaster prone areas.
The mandate came after severe storms in the Midwest and South on May 16 just after 11 p.m turned into a tornado, which affected residents of Laurel County and beyond, with 18 deaths reported as of now, more than 14 just in Kentucky, and millions in infrastructure damage due to the collapsed buildings, overturned cars and hundreds of homes destroyed.
The aftermath of the tornado is horrifying for residents of the affected area, and since the cleanup efforts have just begun, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has stated that he expects the death toll in the state to climb as more debris is clear and corpses begin to surface.
Given the magnitude of the disaster and the number of people that have had their lives destroyed, Governor Beshear came up with a small but quite meaningful way to help those in need. It is not as flashy as sending trucks full of supplies but, considering the fact that homeowners and residents will now need to replace all their worldly possessions and to do that they need to provide valid documentation, it may actually be one of the most useful measures in this scenario.
The new Kentucky measure to help after the catastrophe
Since the disaster, Governor Beshear has made it clear that authorities are ready to provide support and assistance to all Kentucky residents, but the measure is, for now, only applicable for those living in the affected counties, Caldwell, Christian, Laurel, Pulaski, Russell, Todd, Trigg, and Union. Other counties that have been included in a presidential declaration of a major disaster area or that have been amended during the state of emergency will also be included once it happens.
Thanks to this new policy, residents in these affected areas will be able to apply for duplicate driver’s licenses at any Regional Licensing office, as well as duplicate vehicle registrations and titles, the latter at the county clerk’s office without having to pay the usual fee for these duplicates.
This is key, as after the disaster many still need to return to their jobs and normal lives, which means that they need to have all the necessary paperwork to be able to drive, whether it is their own car or one that is provided by insurance companies, they need to present certificates of ownership and they still need their ID in case any authorities ask or they need to complete more paperwork to resolve their living situation.
The waiving of the fees may seem like a very small thing to do to help these individuals but considering the disaster they just suffered, charging them for necessary paperwork just seems like an additional slap on the face when what they need is support and grace, not to have to come up with even more money to resolve their current situation.