FEMA Provides Nearly $500 Million For Damaged Public Facilities
Release Date: February 22, 2005
Release Number: 1539-383
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided more than $495 million to reimburse for emergency measures, debris removal and repair and restore publicly-owned facilities damaged by the four hurricanes that struck Florida last year.
FEMA obligated the money – $495,190,000 through Feb. 22, 2005 – to help the state, cities, counties, and certain non-profit organizations. The money is provided by FEMA and paid to the state, and is made available to applicants as their applications to the state are approved.
Funds from FEMA’s Public Assistance program pay for such things as damaged public buildings, roads, bridges, utilities including water distribution and sewer systems, debris removal, and costs of extraordinary overtime for police, fire and other emergency services agencies. FEMA is paying 90 percent of the costs; affected entities pay the remaining 10 percent.
A breakdown of the amounts of Public Assistance disaster funding aid thus far to Florida’s public agencies and certain non-profit agencies affected by the four 2004 hurricanes is as follows:
- Almost $167 million for 719 approved requests for public assistance to meet costs incurred because of effects of Hurricane Charley.
- More than $163.5 million for 260 requests for assistance from damage by Hurricane Ivan.
- Almost $115 million for 924 requests for assistance from Hurricane Frances.
- Almost $50 million for 781 requests for assistance for damage from Hurricane Jeanne.
Officials urge all homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained hurricane damage to apply for federal and state disaster assistance by the Feb. 28, 2005, deadline. Applicants can register by phone at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing- and speech-impaired. Both numbers operate Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Applicants also may register for assistance online at FEMA’s website, http://www.fema.gov. Look for and click on the words “Register for Disaster Assistance Online” on the right side of the page.
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 impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 23-Feb-2005 08:44:40