Federal support for Hurricane Ian recovery surpasses $1.5 billion

More than $1.5 billion in federal grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments has been provided to the state of Florida and households to help survivors jumpstart their recovery after Hurricane Ian.

FEMA has provided $654 million to households and $322 million to the state for emergency response, while the U.S. Small Business Administration has provided $328 million in disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program has paid $208 million in claims. 

Here’s a look at some of the assistance provided specifically to Northeast Florida counties:

• FEMA has made individual assistance available to 26 counties in Florida, including St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Volusia counties.
• FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance specialists are going door-to-door in Florida neighborhoods to help individuals register for assistance. These teams have interacted with more than 64,000 survivors in counties designated for individual assistance.
• Survivors can visit one of 20 Disaster Recovery Centers, including those operating in St. Johns, Putnam and Volusia counties. More centers are planned to open in the coming days. Interpretation services and translated materials are available at these centers to help survivors communicate in the language with which they feel most comfortable. Disaster Recovery Center locations are chosen for their accessibility, with the goal of reaching as many people as possible. As centers are added, real-time locations will be updated at FloridaDisaster.org.

In addition, hundreds of FEMA inspectors have performed more than 167,000 home inspections for survivors who applied for federal disaster assistance.

As of Oct. 27, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program has received more than 42,000 flood insurance claims and paid more than $208 million to policyholders, including $132 million in advance payments.

National Flood Insurance Program Florida policyholders who had flood damage from the hurricane have a 90-day window to renew their policies. The extension applies to policies with renewal dates beginning Aug. 25 through Oct. 23. Policyholders whose renewal date is in this range should contact their agent or insurance company.

FEMA also extended the proof of loss requirement for flood insurance policyholders in Florida who experienced flood damage from Hurricane Ian from 60 to 365 days.