Federal/State Aid Tops Half Billion For Charley/Frances 

Release Date: September 17, 2004
Release Number: 1539-123

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- More than half a billion dollars in federal and state emergency response funds have been spent in just over thirty days since Hurricane Charley made landfall.

More than $325 million has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide food, shelter, medical care, temporary roofs, travel homes and other emergency supplies in the wake of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances.

A total of 45 of the state’s 67 counties have been declared part of major disaster areas by President Bush for Charley and Frances. Almost $214 million in aid has been approved for more than 420,000 Florida households affected by the two storms.

More than a thousand travel homes have been set up to house displaced families. Of these, 567 are occupied and 443 are ready to receive occupants.

FEMA and the state are operating 24 disaster recovery centers in the declared counties to help residents with questions about assistance programs and the status of their requests. To date these centers have served 53,000 registrants.

Calls to the registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), have been received in record numbers. Nearly 20,000 were logged in Thursday, bringing the total to 421,081 since the initial declaration. Last week, a single day record 36,000 registered on the toll-free line.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $56 million in low-interest loans to repair storm-damaged homes and businesses and 80,000 Floridians have been approved for $121 million in housing assistance through FEMA.

Hurricane victims whose losses have not been covered by insurance or other sources of assistance have received $87.5 million in grants to repair or replace essential property.

Emergency officials estimate that 25 million cubic yards of debris were created by hurricanes Charlie and Frances. About 9 million has been cleared to date.

A number of counties were declared for both Frances and Charley, requiring dual registration by those who suffered losses in both hurricanes. Orange County has generated the most registrations, with 54,264, followed by Palm Beach, 40,953, Charlotte, 39,544 and Brevard with 30,639.

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, 17-Sep-2004 18:51:56