San Juan, Puerto Rico — Nearly $811 million in federal grants, disaster loans, public assistance grants and flood insurance payments have been provided to Puerto Rico and to households affected by Hurricane Fiona to help jumpstart their recovery.
FEMA has provided nearly $607 million in disaster assistance grants to households affected by Hurricane Fiona. These funds are provided to repair damaged homes, replace personal property, and for unmet critical needs and other types of disaster-related assistance.
In addition, FEMA has obligated more than $115 million to government entities and private nonprofit organizations for debris removal and emergency protective measures. To date, 19 municipalities, 21 government agencies and 47 private nonprofit organizations have been awarded disaster assistance grants.
Nearly $22 million was obligated to the Puerto Rico Police Bureau who deployed 9,250 officers to provide additional law enforcement patrol and surveillance to minimize immediate threats to public health and safety.
“Puerto Rico’s recovery after Hurricane Fiona has been swift and FEMA’s work, having already disbursed over $806 million in federal aid in just four months, is a great example of the joint work our government and the federal government do for the benefit of our people. Hurricane Fiona was a difficult moment for everybody on the Island, and our police officers and emergency personnel, as well as many other public officials, left their families for weeks on end to provide security and assistance to our citizens in their time of need. As governor I am extremely proud of them and I am grateful for the collaborative work done by COR3 and FEMA to ensure that we have the resources to provide services that our citizens need”, said the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro R. Pierluisi.
Nancy Casper, FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer, stated that “during the height of the emergency, FEMA responded swiftly deploying over 1,300 disaster workers throughout Puerto Rico. In a matter of days, emergency responders were visiting communities, knocking on doors and helping survivors apply for assistance. Today, federal funding has helped thousands of families repair their homes, replace damaged property, and recover from this disaster.”
The Small Business Administration (SBA) approved nearly $86 million in disaster loans. Recently, the SBA announced the Agency will waive the interest rate for the first year on new disaster loans and extend the initial payment deferment period automatically to 12 months.
The National Flood Insurance Program has also helped survivors whose homes were affected by the disaster, paying more than $2.7 million in claims to policy holders for flood damage related to Hurricane Fiona.