Hurricane Charley Daily Summary For August 29, 2004 

Release Date: August 29, 2004
Release Number: 1539-070

» More Information on Florida Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Assistance to victims of Hurricane Charley has reached more than $79 million, with $48.5 million in housing assistance going to residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

To date, 161,404 applicants have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There were 2,670 registrations yesterday.

The toll-free teleregistration line, 1-800-621-3362 (FEMA), continues to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The TTY number for speech- and hearing-impaired individuals is 1-800-462-7585.

More than $30.6 million in state and federal assistance has been approved to replace essential personal property and meet other uninsured needs.

To date, 57,928 housing inspections have been completed.

There are 246 travel homes occupied, and 566 additional travel homes are ready to be occupied.

More than 17,000 households have received $22 million in short-term rental assistance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved more than $3.1 million in low-interest disaster loans to households and businesses.

Currently, eight shelters remain open providing emergency housing for 286 evacuees.

Approximately 2.5 million cubic yards of debris has been cleared, or about 16 percent of the estimated total.

There are 14 FEMA/state Disaster Recovery Centers providing more than 25,000 Floridians with information on various disaster assistance programs and advice on how to rebuild wisely in the wake of the hurricane.

FEMA has deployed 1,455 personnel to assist with the recovery, and has hired 132 local workers.

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: Monday, 30-Aug-2004 08:47:56