Critical Needs Of Hurricane Charley Victims Being Addressed
Release Date: August 16, 2004
Release Number: HQ-04-122
» More Information on Florida Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), working with the state of Florida, has established truck pipelines to ensure the continued flow of water and ice into areas heavily hit by Hurricane Charley last week and is taking steps to meet critical housing needs. The needs and priorities have been set by the state and localities and FEMA is providing for these life-saving and life-sustaining needs.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delivered 11 trucks carrying a total of 52,250 gallons of water and 14 trucks carrying a total of 560,000 pounds of ice to Florida. Since the storm, Florida has requested an additional 40 trucks carrying 180,000 gallons of water per day, with the first two days’ supply scheduled to be airlifted to the Lakeland Airport on Tuesday.
FEMA has allocated $10 million for travel trailers and $10 million for mobile homes, based on the state’s initial request for housing for10,000 units, and is moving forward with procuring, transporting and installing mobile homes and travel trailers. FEMA, along with its state, other federal agency and voluntary agency partners, is assessing the need for intermediate sheltering. This assessment involves evaluating existing housing resources, developing a strategy to provide temporary repairs so existing units can be reoccupied and, if necessary, using temporary units such as mobile homes or travel trailers. An initial plan has been developed, but is not yet final.
In addition, FEMA is working with displaced victims to assess their housing needs so that the agency will be able to transition them to temporary housing as quickly as possible. Over 200 FEMA contract housing inspectors are out in impacted communities to assess damage, with an additional 250 inspectors on their way. The first assistance checks are expected to go out tonight.
FEMA’s toll free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), is operating daily from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., EDT, seven days a week until further notice. Requests for assistance have been heavy, with 22,207 applications received as of 3 p.m. today.
FEMA opened its first three Disaster Resource Centers (DRCs) this morning, one at a fixed site in Port Charlotte and two mobile units in Estero and Arcadia. Additional locations will open in the coming days. In addition, FEMA representatives are heading door-to-door in affected neighborhoods, providing information to victims on how to seek assistance. In the next few days, FEMA will have 100 community relations teams in the field for this purpose.
The Disaster Field Office will open Tuesday near Orlando to provide a base of operations for federal and state agencies involved in the response and recovery activities. There is a satellite Disaster Field Office operating in Punta Gorda to facilitate response operations there, where damage has been heaviest.
On Monday, 15 damage assessment teams began determining the amount of damage done by Hurricane Charley. Preliminary Damage Assessment teams are in the field to assess the need for federal aid programs authorized by the disaster declaration. Debris specialists are meeting with state and local officials to define what is needed to clear the hurricane-impacted area of debris.
Other critical needs being addressed:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved mass replacement of August food stamp benefits for recipients in Polk, Hardee, Manatee, Charlotte, Lee, Desoto and Sarasota counties. More than 48,000 households will have $8.6 million in benefits electronically added to their food stamp accounts. Additional requests may be received early next week.
- Three Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (FL-3, FL-5, FL-6) are supporting damaged or destroyed hospitals. An additional three teams remain staged in the area awaiting potential assignments. Ten additional DMATs remain on alert at their home stations. A two-person epidemiology team is at the Sarasota Health Department and the Florida Department of Health has requested a second public heath team. A Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT) from North Carolina is being deployed for a veterinary mission.
- FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams (FL-TF1, FL-TF-2, TN-TF1) have completed their initial sweep in Punta Gorda and secondary searches of all 36 affected trailer parks. Operations on Pine, Cayo Costa and North Captiva islands have been completed.
- Approximately 865,000 customers remain without power (down from a high of nearly 1.6 million). Seventy communications sites are operating on back-up power.
Hurricane Charley has left its mark on states other than Florida. Property damage assessments are underway in six North Carolina counties for individual and public assistance and two counties in South Carolina, these for public assistance only.
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: Tuesday, 17-Aug-2004 09:22:09