FEMA Awards $450,000 To Desoto County For Disaster Response
Release Date: October 7, 2004
Release Number: 1539-176
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal grant of $454,946 has been awarded to DeSoto County to help cover the costs of emergency work after Hurricane Charley, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today.
The emergency measures the grant helps pay for include opening emergency shelters, coordinating evacuation, doing search and rescue, providing generators, staffing the Emergency Operations Center, and purchasing emergency supplies, food and ice. It covers the period from August 11 through August 13 (when Charley hit) and August 17 through September 6.
"Today I applaud our DeSoto County first responders," said Governor Jeb Bush. "In the wake of Hurricane Charley, they performed countless life-saving operations and critical missions. This federal grant for emergency services will ensure that the safety of Floridians remains our chief priority."
Earlier today, FEMA announced grants of more than $4.7 million to help cover the costs of hurricane debris removal from Osceola County and the city of Kissimmee.
The money is awarded to local governments to help cover the extraordinary costs created by Hurricane Charley. The local governments handle the emergency response. FEMA pays for 75 percent of the eligible costs, plus some administrative fees. The state of Florida pays half the remaining 25 percent, and the local governments pay the rest. The total eligible costs for DeSoto County’s emergency response after Charley were $606,595.
“Emergency responders all over the state moved quickly under difficult circumstances in the wake of Hurricane Charley,” said Michael D. Brown, Emergency Preparedness and Response Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. “These grants reimburse them for their expenses and highlight FEMA’s mission to help state and local responders in times of disaster.”
Brown said additional grants will be awarded as the hurricane response continues.
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 impact. Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief effort.
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, 07-Oct-2004 10:47:14