FRANKFORT, Ky. — More than 2,000 homes were damaged during the December tornadoes that struck Western Kentucky and state and federal agencies are working together to provide both housing and sheltering, according to Kentucky's head of emergency management. 

Director Michael Dossett and other state leaders provided an update on the disaster response in a meeting with lawmakers Wednesday. 

Dossett said $15 million set aside in Senate Bill 5 would go toward the purchase of 200 travel trailers.

"The response includes rental housing, rental apartments and the last choice is travel trailers," he said. "In many of our cities, there are no rental homes available. There are no apartments available, so obviously the choice will be to move forward with travel trailers."

Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said the initial focus will be on families with school children who need to be in the community. 

He also gave an update on efforts to clear out debris. 

"Debris removal has resulted in almost 800,000 cubic yards of material removed and that represents roughly 27% of the total U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimate, so that number is progressing steadily," he said. "We’ve had good progress. There’s always room for improvement."

State Budget Director John Hicks talked about the impact of the storms on local government revenue.

"We expect that some of those areas will experience a loss of revenues due to the destruction of residences and businesses that their governments count on," said Hicks. "Of course, local governments rely heavily on property taxes and occupational taxes." 

Hicks said he would like to continue discussions with lawmakers on the issue. 

Wednesday evening, the House and Senate passed identical bills setting aside $200 million for areas impacted by the tornadoes.