Over 72,800 Hurricane Evacuees Helped In 5 Southeastern States
Release Date: February 24, 2006
Release Number: R4-06-008
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its state partners have helped more than 73,000 hurricane evacuees in five Southeastern states in the six months since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.
Many victims of Hurricane Katrina which struck Florida , Louisiana , Alabama and Mississippi in late August and Hurricane Rita, which struck Texas and Louisiana on Sept. 24, evacuated to Georgia , Tennessee , North Carolina , South Carolina and Kentucky . In the six months since Hurricane Katrina struck, evacuees in those five states have received more than $314.01 million in federal assistance, FEMA reported today.
These payments are staggering, but the needs of people affected by these hurricanes also is staggering, said Paul W. Fay Jr., federal coordinating officer for the five states with emergency declarations. FEMA is committed to helping the victims of these Gulf Coast hurricanes get back on their feet and return some normalcy to their lives.
FEMA's assistance includes direct payment to hotels and motels that housed hurricane evacuees. Nationwide, FEMA has made more than $530 million in direct payments to hotels and motels that housed hurricane evacuees. In Georgia alone, FEMA paid hotels and motels more than $42.31 million for housing hurricane evacuees from Oct. 26 to Feb. 20.
During the similar period, FEMA's tab for direct payments to hotels and motels was more than $6.31 million in Tennessee; $1.13 million in North Carolina; $912,000 in South Carolina; and $177,000 in Kentucky.
Georgia hosts more than half of the hurricane victims who fled to these five Southeastern states. More than 42,600 applications for relief from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita were filed in Georgia .
More than 17,360 applications for aid were filed in Tennessee , and nearly 6,800 applications were filed in North Carolina . South Carolina accounted for more than 3,600 applications, and over 2,740 were filed in Kentucky .
TOTAL INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE FROM HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA
| State | Katrina | Rita | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
GA |
$190,581,356.20 |
$3,261,857.12 |
$193,843,213.32 |
KY |
$9,667,056.66 |
$563,496.21 |
$10,230,552.87 |
NC |
$26,188,696.79 |
$964,811.30 |
$27,153,508.09 |
SC |
$13,710,263.46 |
$541,172.66 |
$14,251,436.12 |
TN |
$66,172,956.23 |
$2,443,867.65 |
$68,616,823.88 |
Total |
$306,320,329.34 |
$7,775,204.94 |
$314,095,534.28 |
Last Modified: Monday, 27-Feb-2006 15:16:23