Perry County Buyouts Move Forward After 2022 and 2025 Floods

On January 6, 2026, Perry County Emergency Management Director Jerry Stacy told county officials that buyouts tied to the devastating 2022 flood are nearing completion and homeowners began receiving checks last month. The county has pursued mitigation through two federal programs administered by FEMA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, using both streams of funding to purchase repeatedly flooded properties and remove structures from harm’s way.

Stacy noted the scale of the effort. "As of today, will be over 100 purchases through both programs combined since the 22 flood," he said. Officials emphasized that the buyout process can be slow — roughly three years in many cases — and that participation remains voluntary; homeowners are not required to accept offers.

The arrival of funds marks a turning point for families who endured the 2022 event, which destroyed homes and disrupted neighborhoods across Perry County. For those accepting buyouts, demolition of condemned or damaged structures is already underway in some areas, and cleared parcels are being converted to green space to reduce future flood risk. These landscape changes are intended to lower insurance costs, reduce future recovery expenses, and create buffers along waterways.

At the same time, attention is shifting to the February 2025 floods, which struck nearly one year ago. Those cases are still awaiting federal approval, leaving many residents without the same path to mitigation that 2022 survivors are now seeing. The staggered timing underscores how federal review and funding cycles can produce uneven recovery within a single county, with some households able to move forward while neighbors continue to wait.

For Perry County residents, the developments hold practical implications. Homeowners eligible for buyouts should expect continued coordination with county emergency management and federal agencies as offers are finalized and closings occur. Property owners who decline buyouts will retain responsibility for repair, insurance, and future flood risk. Community planners and local officials will need to manage demolition, maintenance of new green spaces, and the fiscal impacts on tax rolls as parcels are removed from the residential inventory.

Nationally, buyouts are one of several tools communities use to adapt to more frequent and intense flooding. In Perry County the recent movement of 2022 cases from application to payment demonstrates the long timelines involved, and highlights the importance of timely federal action for communities still recovering from more recent events.