Hurricane Relief and Preparedness

I have been working closely with President Trump, Governor DeSantis, and FEMA officials, and I am pleased to announce that FEMA has amended its disaster declaration. All coastal counties in Florida’s First Congressional District have now been approved for individual assistance. This allows FEMA to disburse financial or direct assistance to individuals and families whose property has been damaged or destroyed as a result of the federally-declared disaster, and whose losses are not covered by insurance. This is wonderful news, and will greatly help our recovery from Hurricane Sally. More information is available here.

Learn more about the individual assistance program HERE

Learn about the Individuals and Households Program HERE

Read the Amended Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Florida HERE

Additionally, FEMA announced last week that Escambia County was approved for public assistance. FEMA has since added to its declaration; Santa Rosa County is now eligible for debris removal (“Category A”) and permanent work (“Categories C-G”). The county has already been designated for emergency protective measures (“Category B”), including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program.

As I have mentioned before, if your home or business has been damaged by the hurricane, please do not wait any longer to contact your insurance company and file a claim. Take pictures of any damage caused by the hurricane. Make sure to have your insurance documents; insurance companies will send out adjusters and start the claims process.

Finally, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) request to waive timely reporting of food loss for households in 13 counties in the State of Florida. This waiver approval will allow affected households in those counties to make a request for replacement of SNAP benefits through October 6, 2020.