Hurricane Katrina Evacuees In Georgia Get FEMA Assistance
Release Date: August 25, 2006
Release Number: R4-06-035
ATLANTA, Ga. -- At the one year after Katrina mark, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $210.77 million to Georgia’s Hurricane Katrina evacuees for rent, personal property replacement, health and medical, and other approved expenses.
Most of the Gulf Coast residents who evacuated to Georgia from Hurricane Katrina are still living near where they found emergency housing after the storm’s Aug. 29 landfall. About 34,000 of 47,000 evacuee households who evacuated to Georgia are still there.
FEMA has obligated nearly $17 million in reimbursements to state agencies and local governments that helped with evacuees in Georgia. This money represents such goodwill efforts as the cost of providing food and emergency sheltering, apartment rentals, furniture and utilities for evacuees, labor and administrative costs of operating shelters, transportation and childcare for evacuees. The money also helped local school systems such as Gwinnett Public Schools which received money to move and set up 26 portable classrooms to accommodate the addition of student evacuees.
FEMA also has provided direct payments to hotels and motels for emergency sheltering until evacuees were able to get into more permanent housing arrangements. FEMA continues working with these families as they continue their recovery.
“FEMA Region IV had an enormous challenge following Hurricane Katrina to work with evacuees in five Southeastern states,” said Mary Lynne Miller, acting director of FEMA’s Region IV. “We needed the help of volunteers and our state partners to help meet the needs of the evacuees, and everyone really stepped up.”
More than 84,000 evacuee households in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have received more than $391 million in assistance through FEMA’s Individual Assistance program for housing assistance and replacement of personal possessions and other uninsured losses.
| STATE | CURRENT NUMBER OF APPLICANTS | PEAK NUMBER OF APPLICANTS | INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE AWARDED | PUBLIC ASSISTANCE OBLIGATED | HOTEL SHELTERING FUNDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA | 33,798 | 47,440 | $210,771,649 | $16,976,883 | $39,765,443 |
| KY | 2,212 | 3,126 | $10,65 9,358 | $4,259,405 | $71,106 |
| NC | 5,801 | 7,990 | $29,330,08 2 | $1,980,608 | $996,097 |
| SC | 3,038 | 4,456 | $14,856,637 | $3,507,849 | $997,314 |
| TN | 14,133 | 21,128 | $71,641,570 | $27,596,970 | $5,048,741 |
| TOTALS | 58,982 | 84,140 | $337,259,296 | $54,321,715 | $46,878,701 |
*These numbers reflect the latest data as of Aug. 21, 2006.
*Please note applicant numbers represent households based on current mailing addresses.
*The peak number of evacuees was recorded the week of Oct. 7, 2005.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003
Last Modified: Friday, 25-Aug-2006 11:12:38