FEMA/State Hurricane Response Daily Summary
Debris Removal A Priority
Release Date: September 29, 2004
Release Number: 1539-157
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hurricane Ivan has left behind mountains of debris to be removed, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has made that one of its primary missions.
Debris specialists to oversee and monitor removal operations have been deployed to stricken Florida counties. The teams include FEMA, the state, the U.S. Corps of Engineers and contracted personnel. The costs of the removal efforts are shared by FEMA (75 percent) and the state of Florida (25 percent). Debris removal is a public assistance program.
“Debris removal is a massive task that often begins with individual property owners,” said State Coordinating Officer Craig Fugate of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT).
The actual removal, storage and disposal of debris is performed by local governments or by contractors selected by those governmental entities.
“Our early targeting of debris removal is to make highways and roads safe for travel and to remove debris from public property if it constitutes a health or safety hazard,” commented Federal Coordinating Office Bill Carwile of FEMA. Public property also includes publicly owned facilities such as parks and recreation areas.
Debris removal from private property is not eligible for FEMA assistance. However, for a limited time, individual property owners can move debris from their property to public rights-of-way for pick up and disposal by local government.
In general, contracting for debris work requires competitive bidding. Non-competitive contracting is acceptable only during an emergency when the contract award cannot be delayed by the time required to obtain competitive bidding.
A total of 17.2 million cubic yards of debris has been cleared through Tuesday, September 28.
Florida registrations for assistance from FEMA totaled 646,984 at the close of business Tuesday, an increase of 29,318 from the day before.
Assistance to individual households in Florida has reached more than $361 million. That includes $196 million in housing assistance for residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and $165 million in state and federal assistance to replace essential personal property and meet other uninsured needs.
To date, 295,842 housing inspections have been completed.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $111 million in low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses.
As of Tuesday, there were 55 shelters open across the state, housing a total of 3,963 people.
A total of six disaster medical teams are engaged across the state, and so far they have helped 9,143 patients.
There are now 31 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) operating across the state, open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. So far they have helped 90,772 visitors.
Those who have access to the Internet can get answers to many frequently asked questions from www.fema.gov.
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s emergency management agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impact. Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Thursday, 30-Sep-2004 08:30:49