Emergency Supplies Continue Moving Into Hard Hit Areas
Release Date: September 7, 2004
Release Number: HQ-04-170
» More Information on Florida Hurricane Frances
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) is rapidly moving personnel, equipment and supplies into Florida to assist victims of Hurricanes Frances, while resuming recovery efforts for those affected by Hurricane Charley.
On Saturday, President Bush ordered the federal government to provide all necessary resources and assets to aid those victimized by the second hurricane to strike in less than a month. The President signed a disaster declaration for Florida on August 13 in the wake of Hurricane Charley.
“FEMA, its federal, state, volunteer and private sector partners are responding to many urgent needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances,” said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. “We understand the needs that exist, and we are asking Floridians to be patient and stay safe and off the roads.”
FEMA’s toll free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), is operating on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. The TTY number for speech- and hearing-impaired individuals is 1-800-462-7585. Victims in the disaster-declared counties need to call the registration number to begin the application process for federal assistance. Hurricane Charley victims who have not registered yet as well as those who previously registered for assistance and suffered additional damage from Hurricane Frances should also call to register.
Requests for assistance have been heavy, with 22,949 applications received as of 8 a.m. today. FEMA already has approved nearly $2.7 million in individual assistance. Because of the high volume of initial calls, owners of commercial properties and residents with minor losses are urged to wait a few days before calling so those whose homes were destroyed or heavily damaged can be served first. Brown also advised that storm victims with insurance coverage contact their insurance company or agent before calling to report losses and, if necessary, to request an advance or partial payment of their settlement.
Assistance can be delivered quicker to those who arrange an automatic funds transfer from the federal government into their checking accounts. All Florida disaster victims are asked to call the toll free number above if their contact or location information changes in any way.
FEMA personnel who remained in the state at key locations continue to work with state and local officials to respond to critical needs as they occur. Staff members who were in the state working on the Hurricane Charley response and were evacuated started arriving back today.
Additional response operations include:
- More than 2.6 million gallons of water are available for Florida. Additionally, 7.3 million pounds of ice are ready. Currently 16,900 Meals Ready to Eat are on hand, another 90,000 meals are being flown in. Enough baby formula and food is available to nourish 7,730 infants.
- Twenty truckloads of plastic roof sheeting are in Florida and more than 27,700 rolls are headed for the hurricane area. More than 3,400 plastic tarps are ready for delivery.
- Some 350 mid-range generators were on hand in Florida and another 18 are staged and ready. Also, 536 generators were available in Florida and being prepared for use as medical device support in conjunction with the state’s Department of Health.
- Brevard, Martin, Palm Beach, Volusia, Indian River and St. Lucie counties have been identified as critical counties to receive shipments of commodities. Thus far, these counties have received 98 truckloads of ice, 24 truckloads of water, 12 truckloads of Meals Ready to Eat.
- New Mexico Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) 5 and Florida DMAT 2 have set up operations in Martin and St. Lucie counties. Eleven medical teams have been assembled to serve in 10 special needs shelters. Additional medical response teams are standing by and on alert for deployment as needed.
- A total of 2,748 FEMA staff and personnel from other federal and voluntary agencies are working on the federal response and recovery efforts for Hurricanes Charley and Frances.
- An additional nine Florida counties have been declared eligible for disaster assistance. The 27 Florida counties now eligible for individual assistance are Alachula, Brevard, Broward, Citrus, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Miami-Dade, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putman, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia.
- A total of 379 shelters remain open in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, housing 95,263 evacuees. Most of the residents of out-of-state shelters are evacuees from Florida.
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: Wednesday, 08-Sep-2004 08:55:33