News and Media: Disaster 4673

If you live in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota or Seminole County and were affected by Hurricane Ian, FEMA may be able to help with temporary housing expenses, basic home repairs or other essential disaster-related needs that are not covered by insurance.

Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties are now eligible for FEMA assistance after Hurricane Ian.

Disaster survivors should be aware that con artists and criminals may try to obtain money or steal personal information through fraud or identity theft after a disaster. In some cases, thieves try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from survivors.

Floridians who have been impacted by Hurricane Ian and live in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties may be eligible for FEMA grants for temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other eligible expenses.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is in Florida today meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis and surveying damages from Hurricane Ian. She visits the state the day after President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. approved a major disaster declaration allowing survivors in the hardest hit areas to begin applying for federal disaster assistance to help jumpstart their recovery. Federal interagency response efforts remain focused on Ian’s second landfall today, which is expected to cause flooding throughout areas of Georgia, South Carolina and Northwest Florida.