Hurricane Hermine Survivors: Assistance Still Available, 30 Days Left to Register for Federal Disaster Aid

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Survivors rebuilding their lives from Hurricane Hermine have 30 days left to register for federal disaster assistance. The storm caused widespread damage along Florida’s western coastline. The State of Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continue to support individual and family recovery efforts.

As of close of business Oct. 27, 2016, nearly $38 million in federal assistance has been provided to homeowners, renters and business owners in designated areas for Hurricane Hermine, including:

  • $27 million in flood insurance approved for policyholders under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
  • More than $5.5 million approved to help individuals and families recover from the disaster, including more than $4.5 million for housing assistance.

  • Nearly $5.4 million in SBA disaster loans to both individuals and businesses.

Individuals who have underinsured or uninsured damages or losses from Hurricane Hermine and who live in the eight eligible counties still have until Monday, Nov. 28, to register for FEMA assistance. The counties included in the federal disaster declaration are Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Hillsborough, Leon, Levy, Pasco and Pinellas

Register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362, which is Video Relay Service (VRS) accessible. Survivors who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have difficulty speaking may call TTY 800-462-7585. Helpline hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).

Don’t wait to register. Applying for federal disaster assistance now may help if you still have unmet needs after receiving your insurance payment. While FEMA cannot duplicate assistance covered by insurance, you may still be eligible for assistance for losses not covered by insurance. FEMA grants do not have to be repaid, are nontaxable and do not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid or other federal benefits.

Register with FEMA and, if asked, complete and return the SBA loan application. There is no charge to apply for the loan and no obligation to accept it if approved. SBA low-interest disaster loans can help homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations rebuild. Homeowners can receive loans of up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residences. Homeowners and renters may also borrow up to $40,000 to replace damaged or destroyed personal property including vehicles. Businesses and private nonprofit organizations can borrow up to $2,000,000 for disaster-related losses.

For more information on Florida’s disaster recovery visit fema.gov/disaster/4280, twitter.com/FEMA, facebook.com/FEMA, and fema.gov/blog, floridadisaster.org or #FLRecovers.

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Hurricane Hermine Survivors: Assistance Still Available, 30 Days Left to Register for Federal Disaster Aid

FEMA Continues to Closely Monitor Hermine and Lester

FEMA Urges Residents in Potentially Affected Areas to Take Direction from State, Local, and Tribal Officials 

WASHINGTON – FEMA, through its regional offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Oakland, California, and its Pacific Area Office in Honolulu, Hawaii, continues to closely monitor Tropical Storm Hermine and Hurricane Lester. FEMA remains in close coordination with state emergency managers in Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and other potentially impacted Atlantic states, as well as our federal partners at the National Weather Service forecast offices.

Tropical Storm Hermine

According to the National Weather Service, Tropical Storm Hermine is moving north-northeast of Tallahassee, Florida. The center of Hermine will move farther inland across southeastern Georgia today and into the Carolinas tonight and Saturday. Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin along the Atlantic coast later today, and spread northward through the weekend.

Tropical Storm Hermine may cause localized flooding and flash flooding possible, along with storm surge and tide could produce potentially life-threatening inundation along the Florida Gulf Coast up through the Carolinas. Hermine is expected to produce rainfall totals of five to ten inches over the southeastern. United States from northwest Florida through southern and eastern Georgia. There are possible isolated maximum rainfall amount of 15 inches.

FEMA liaison officers are deployed to emergency operations centers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to help coordinate any requests for federal assistance. A FEMA liaison officer will arrive in the Virginia Emergency Operations Center Saturday morning. A FEMA Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) is deployed to the Florida Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to support response activities and ensure there are no unmet needs.

FEMA’s Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Atlanta, Georgia, is activated to help coordinate any requests for assistance from potentially impacted states and tribes. One FEMA IMAT is deployed to the RRCC to support response activities and ensure there are no unmet needs. Through the National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC), FEMA is actively engaged with national level private sector partners across the nation as businesses also prepare for the storm system threatening the Southeast United States.

Hurricane Lester

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Lester was located about 515 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds were 110 mph. The hurricane is moving west-northwest with gradual weakening expected over the next several days. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Hawaii County, Maui County and Oahu. Hurricane conditions are possible over Hawaii and Maui County Friday night into Saturday, and over Oahu Saturday and Sunday night. Heavy rainfall may affect the Big Island and Maui into Saturday and Oahu Saturday and Saturday night.

FEMA is working with its federal partners at the National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. and the RRCC in Oakland, California, to help coordinate any requests for assistance from Hawaii. These centers bring together partners from the federal family to closely coordinate federal resources that may be requested from the state.

FEMA established a Federal Staging Area in Kona, Hawaii, to pre-position supplies closer to impacted areas, should they be needed and requested by the state, for distribution by state and local officials. 45,000 liters; 2 generators; over 37,000 meals, and other materials are in the Kona Staging Area. One IMAT is on the ground in FEMA’s Pacific Area Office in Honolulu, Hawaii, to support response activities and ensure there are no unmet needs.

An additional IMAT has been placed on alert, and is prepared to deploy to Hawaii if necessary.  Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) personnel and pre-positioned communications caches are deploying to the FEMA Pacific Area Office at Fort Shafter, in Honolulu, to support emergency response communications needs. Through the NBEOC, FEMA is actively engaged with national level private sector partners across the nation as businesses also prepare for the storm systems threatening Hawaii.

Safety Tips

FEMA encourages residents and visitors in areas potentially affected by Tropical Storm Hermine or Hurricane Lester to monitor local radio or TV stations for updated emergency information, and follow the instructions of state, local, and tribal officials.

Storm tracks can change quickly and unexpectedly, so coastal residents should monitor weather conditions and take steps to prepare their home, family, and business. Those in potentially affected areas should be familiar with evacuation routes, have a communications plan, keep a battery-powered radio handy and have a plan for their pets. 

There is the potential for flooding and storm surge with Tropical Storm Hermine and Hurricane Lester. Driving through a flooded area can be extremely hazardous. Nearly half of all flash flood deaths happen in vehicles. Stay safe when in your car, by watching for flooding in low lying areas, at bridges and highway dips. As little as six inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle. Storm surge poses a significant threat for drowning and can sometimes cut off evacuation routes, so do not delay leaving if an evacuation is ordered for your area.

Visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov to learn more about preparing for hurricanes and severe weather.

FEMA made available time lapse footage of the NRCC in Washington, D.C., which can be viewed here:  http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/videos/123252.

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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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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FEMA Continues to Closely Monitor Hermine and Lester