One month after Hurricane Ian made landfall, one of the largest disaster recovery missions in recent history is taking place in Florida.
The Category 4 storm, with 150 mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge, made landfall Sept. 28 near Cayo Costa, Fl., creating devastation that stretched from the southwest coast across the central part of the state and all the way to the northeast coast before entering the Atlantic.
It was the fourth-largest storm to hit Florida, cutting power to 2.7 million people, destroying homes and businesses, knocking out water systems and leaving piles of debris everywhere.
In 30 days, FEMA and its federal partners have provided the state and Florida households with $1.56 billion in grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments. The work is just beginning. More than 2,400 federal personnel are in Florida working on recovery. Private sector, voluntary agencies and faith-based organizations are fully engaged.
“Even for a state that is no stranger to hurricanes,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Tom McCool, “this was enormous. It presented challenges for our partners at the state, local and federal level unlike any we have seen for many years.
“We are committed to helping people get a safe roof over their heads as quickly as possible. We are working with the state to provide immediate temporary solutions – including hotels, rental assistance and other tools. Our focus is to meet the immediate sheltering need, give survivors a jumpstart on their recovery, and to bridge the gap between today and the long-term solutions.”
In Lee, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee and Sarasota counties, FEMA is providing Direct Temporary Housing Assistance, which includes travel trailers and manufactured homes for eligible survivors, in addition to direct leasing of housing and repair for multifamily buildings that FEMA can lease for survivors.
The state of Florida and FEMA activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for Hurricane Ian to house eligible survivors temporarily in hotels. FEMA expanded that program this week to all 26 counties eligible for Individual Assistance.
“We continue to work closely with our federal and local partners to find innovative ways to cut through red tape and quickly and efficiently provide resources to communities impacted by Hurricane Ian,” said Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Director Kevin Guthrie. “I look forward to our continued partnership and working to see the families and businesses impacted through the recovery process.”
As of Oct. 28, FEMA has provided $661.6 million to households for housing and other needs and $322 million to the state for emergency response. The US Small Business Administration has provided $356.6 million in disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program has paid $223 million in claims, including advance payments.
Working closely with the FDEM, FEMA coordinated a federal response that involved multiple agencies.
On Sept. 25, four days before the storm made landfall, FEMA Region 4 in Atlanta activated the Regional Response Coordination Center to track the storm and put personnel, equipment and supplies in place before landfall. The center activated all Emergency Support Functions, the Department of Defense and the US Coast Guard.
FEMA staged generators for quick movement to critical facilities such as hospitals. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked with the state to support restoration of water service.
FEMA provided 11 million liters of water, 6.8 million meals, tarps, blankets, cots, medical equipment and other commodities for the state to distribute when needed.
Eleven FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams worked with state teams to conduct operations after the storm. The teams inspected more than 86,000 structures in the search process.
FEMA contracted for 300 ambulances to supplement state and local units. The Department of Health and Human Services deployed seven Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, which treated more than 3,700 patients in three weeks.
USACE installed more than 14,940 Blue Roofs at no charge to homeowners impacted by Hurricane Ian in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto and Sarasota counties.
FEMA deployed more than 450 Disaster Survivor Assistance specialists who are going door-to-door to help people apply for FEMA assistance. The teams have interacted with more than 67,000 individuals.
FEMA home inspectors have performed more than 170,000 inspections to help the processing of applications for assistance.
The deadline for applications is Nov. 28. To apply for FEMA assistance, go online to DisasterAssistance.gov, download the FEMA App for mobile devices, or call toll-free 800-621-3362. The line is open every day from 7 am to 11 pm ET. Help is available in most languages. To view an accessible video on how to apply visit Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.
Recovery will be a long process and FEMA will work closely with the state to ensure that Florida’s requirements are met. A joint state/federal field office has been established in the Tampa area to coordinate recovery operations. FEMA’s Interagency Recovery Coordination is working with multiple federal agencies to identify priority recovery needs.
For the latest information on Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Ian, visit floridadisaster.org/info and fema.gov/disaster/4673. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.
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