Federal, State, and Local Teams Continue Assessments in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In response to Hurricane Matthew, joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) teams continue to document damages to homes, businesses and public facilities that will be used to inform determinations for additional federal disaster assistance.  

PDA teams bring together local emergency management, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and FEMA. They visit areas identified by the state to document the extent of damage caused by the hurricane. PDA teams are currently deployed in Flagler and Putnam counties.  Tomorrow, a PDA team will also be in Indian River County to assess infrastructure damage. 

PDA teams document information that includes:

• concentration of damages;
• number of primary residences affected;
• damage to public infrastructure; and
• amount of insurance coverage.

The information is provided to the state. The teams do not visit every home or business and the PDA process does not guarantee federal assistance. The information is used by FEMA to determine which counties may be eligible for federal Individual Assistance and Public Assistance.

Other FEMA teams are canvassing areas hit by Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Brevard counties. They visit homes, businesses, organizations and high-traffic locations in affected areas. They also meet with local officials and community leaders to provide additional eyes and ears to gather information on where damages exist. They report that information back to the PDA teams for further review.

All FEMA personnel carry identification and will not ask for personal information such as a social security number or banking information, and they will not ask for money. Anyone who suspects that someone is trying to impersonate a FEMA worker should call FEMA’s Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or the Florida Attorney General’s consumer protection hotline at    866-966-7226.

For more information on Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Matthew visit fema.gov/disaster/4283, twitter.com/FEMA, facebook.com/FEMA, fema.gov/blog or #FLRecovers.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (voice, 711 or video relay service). TTY users can call 800-462-7585.