Additional Assistance Available For Hurricane-Hit Florida Counties
Glades, Hendry, Martin, and St. Lucie now eligible for Individual Assistance program
Release Date: October 26, 2005
Release Number: 1609-003
» More Information on Florida Hurricane Wilma
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Federal disaster assistance for eligible individuals and business owners with damage caused by Hurricane Wilma has been expanded to include residents of Glades, Hendry, Martin and St. Lucie counties, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“As communities continue to recover from a record-setting eight hurricanes over the course of fourteen months, we are committed to providing Floridians the help they need to regain normalcy after Wilma’s damaging dash across the state,” Federal Coordinating Officer Justin DeMello said. "We continue to work closely with state officials and local emergency managers to assess damage situations and deliver all necessary aid.”
Based on aerial assessments and the work of joint local, state and federal preliminary disaster assessment (PDA) teams – who were on the ground shortly after Wilma’s winds subsided – the four additional counties were designated for Individual Assistance under the major disaster declaration issued by President Bush on October 24. Other counties designated for Individual Assistance under the disaster declaration are Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach.
"Our federal partners continue to work hand-in-hand with us to meet Floridians' immediate and long-term needs," said State Coordinating Officer Craig Fugate. "We know FEMA is with us as we respond, recover, and rebuild stronger."
Individual Assistance can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other disaster-related expenses not met by insurance or other aid programs. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration will also be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance.
DeMello said that affected residents and business owners in the designated counties can begin the disaster application process by calling the toll-free registration number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Those with a speech or hearing impairment can call a special TTY number at 1-800-462-7585. Applicants may instead choose to register online at www.fema.gov.
The four counties were among those previously declared eligible for the Public Assistance program, under which state and local governments and eligible non-profit agencies may be reimbursed for emergency services and eligible debris removal, along with Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk and Sarasota.
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state 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 impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. For more information visit www.fema.gov.
Last Modified: Thursday, 27-Oct-2005 14:16:09