Hurricane Michael Public Assistance funding tops $1 billion for Florida

Release Date Release Number
R4 DR-4399-FL NR 206
Release Date:
May 15, 2020

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) have approved more than $1 billion in Public Assistance grants for Hurricane Michael-related recovery expenses.

 

This funding reimburses state agencies, local governments and private nonprofit organizations including houses of worship, for the cost of disaster-related debris removal, emergency protective measures to protect life and property, and permanent repair work to damaged or destroyed infrastructure.

 

Public Assistance grants are an essential source of funding for communities to quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.

 

“On my first full day in office I committed to the people of Northwest Florida that I would do all that was necessary to ensure they receive the much needed resources to be able to recover after the devastating Category 5 Hurricane Michael that hit our shores,” said Governor DeSantis. “I am proud
of the important partnership with FEMA, which has obligated $1 billion in reimbursements, as we continue to rebuild affected communities.”

 

“Since January 2019, we’ve paid out more than $2.4 billion statewide for hurricane recovery, the most the Division has paid out in our history by double,” said FDEM Director Jared Moskowitz. “Of the
$1 billion obligated for Hurricane Michael reimbursements, the Division has already paid out more
than $700 million – setting the pace nationally on disaster recovery funding. We’ve been able to do
this by working closely with our federal partners to turn on expedited funding, and by changing our processes at the Division to make these payments as quickly as possible.”

 

“The recovery success is largely a result of the excellent partnership between FEMA and FDEM” said Federal Coordinating Officer, Brett Howard. “In these unprecedented times, together we have been able to continue to expedite projects and get the much needed recovery dollars to the state, cities and towns in the Florida panhandle.”

 

FEMA and FDEM continue to work closely with applicants to move projects through the Public Assistance process and help get them reimbursement for every eligible recovery project. Public Assistance is a cost-sharing program. FEMA reimburses applicants at least 75 percent of eligible costs, and the remaining 25 percent is covered by the state and/or local entities.

 

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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters. For a list of resources available to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Michael, visit www.floridadisaster.org/info. For more Hurricane Michael recovery information, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4399. Follow FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Twitter at @FEMARegion4 and @FLSERT. You may also visit FEMA and the Division’s Facebook pages at Facebook.com/FEMA and Facebook.com/FloridaSERT.

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