Storm Aid Exceeds $1.27 Billion

Release Date: October 8, 2004 Release Number: 1539-183

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Federal and state aid to hurricane and flood victims throughout Florida has reached more than $1.27 billion following Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. That figure includes costs for emergency assistance as well as financial assistance to homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained storm damages.

A total of 869,929 Floridians have registered for assistance.

A breakdown of the types of assistance and their respective amounts of aid are:

• A total of $542,900,000 in federal and state disaster assistance for Florida homeowners, renters and business owners. Of that amount, $285,500,000 is in the form of grants for housing repair and rental assistance and $257,400,000 in grants to repair or replace personal property.
• A total of $670,528,441 in emergency response to provide ice, water, food, temporary roofs and other emergency services.
• The U. S. Small Business Administration has approved $172,900,000 to date in low-interest loans to repair storm-damaged homes and businesses. Businesses may also be eligible for economic injury loans, loans to businesses which had no physical damage but lost revenue as a result of the hurricane.

FEMA’s Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) have treated 9,633 patients since this year’s first hurricane struck Florida eight weeks ago. Of that number, 3,872 patients were given medical attention resulting from Charley, 1,461 from Frances, 3,339 from Ivan, and 961 from Jeanne. All DMAT operations were complete as of October 4.

To date, a total of 1,258 manufactured housing units have been made available to those needing housing. The breakdown of manufactured housing units, by storm, are 1,060 from Charley, 41 from Frances, 151 from Ivan, and six from Jeanne.

Temporary repairs to roofs in many cases have been accomplished by the use of FEMA-provided tarps and/or plastic sheeting. These repairs are temporary fixes designed to provide protection from the elements until the homeowner can make permanent repairs with a qualified professional.

Plastic sheeting installed on storm-damaged homes number 29,803 from Charley, 12,981 from Frances and Jeanne, and 12,886 from Ivan. The number of tarps delivered to Emergency Operations Centers for distribution are 163,848 from Charley, 225,836 from Frances and Jeanne, and 91,829 from Ivan. The total numbers of plastic sheeting and tarps from all storms are 55,670 and 481,513, respectively.

It is estimated that the four hurricanes and flooding left more than 40 million cubic feet of debris in their wake. To date, nearly 25 million cubic yards have been cleared.

Federal and state emergency officials continue to stress the importance of calling FEMA’s toll-free registration line, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to register for assistance. The hearing and/or speech impaired may call TTY 1-800-462-7585.

The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impact. Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief effort.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.