Hurricane Charley Daily Summary For August 27, 2004 

Release Date: August 27, 2004
Release Number: 1539-060

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Two weeks after Hurricane Charley hit Florida, more than 148,000 residents have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for financial help in recovering from their storm losses. More than $68 million in federal and state disaster assistance to individuals and families has been approved.

FEMA’s toll-free teleregistration line 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The TTY number for speech- and hearing-impaired is 1-800-462-7585.

More than $42.2 million has been approved in housing assistance to people whose primary residences were damaged or destroyed.

To date, 49,744 housing inspections have been completed.

In addition, $26.2 million has been disbursed to families with other serious storm-related needs not covered by insurance or assistance from volunteer agencies.

A number of travel trailer and mobile home sites are being developed to temporarily house residents whose homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the hurricane. Currently, 156 travel homes are occupied, and 679 travel homes have been dispatched to sites.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved more than $1 million in low-interest loans to repair homes and businesses.

FEMA and the state of Florida are operating 14 Disaster Recovery Centers to provide information and answer questions about requests for aid. The centers have served more than 21,000 residents.

Currently, 14 shelters remain open, housing 557 evacuees, down almost 300 from yesterday.

More than 98% of power has been restored to affected areas.

FEMA estimates that nearly 16 million cubic yards of debris will be cleared from the 18 hardest-hit counties. To date, 1.87 million cubic yards have been cleared.

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 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: Friday, 27-Aug-2004 16:15:26