TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — FEMA has approved $1,862,911 to the state of Florida to assist Panama City with reimbursement for the costs of emergency protective measures following Hurricane Michael under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program.
FEMA funds will reimburse the city for actions to remove the immediate threat to public health and safety, such as road blockades, sheltering and evacuations within Panama City following the October 2018 storm.
FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program is an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency. The Florida Division of Emergency Management works with FEMA during all phases of the program and conducts final reviews of FEMA-approved projects.
Applicants work directly with FEMA to develop project worksheets and scopes of work. Following approvals by FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management, FEMA obligates funding for the project.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of private non-profit organizations including some houses of worship, so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
These projects are initially being funded at the original 75-percent federal cost share rate to avoid any delays. This and other Public Assistance projects were in process prior to approval of 100 percent cost share.
On March 9, President Trump expanded the federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures to 100 percent for the first 45 days from Hurricane Michael’s landfall. The projects will be adjusted to provide the remaining 25 percent of eligible costs to the applicants.
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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.