Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that since January 8, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) has awarded more than $600 million in recovery funding for hurricanes Michael, Irma, Matthew and Hermine. This announcement follows new policies and procedures implemented at FDEM to accelerate funding to communities impacted by these storms.
“On my first day in office, I went to Northwest Florida to see the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael and I knew we needed to use every resource at our disposal to help the area recover,” said Governor DeSantis. “Since then, I’ve directed FDEM to change policies to get this critical funding out as quickly as possible not only for communities impacted by Michael, but for those impacted by Irma, Matthew and Hermine as well. I’m proud that we’ve been able to award more than half-a-billion dollars in vital recovery funding for communities across Florida.”
“Bureaucratic delay died the day Governor DeSantis was elected,” said FDEM Director Jared Moskowitz. “I’m proud of the Division’s 2019 record and commend our entire staff for accepting the challenge with still more work to do.”
In January, FDEM announced that, under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, the Division was putting in place an expedited process to accelerate funding for communities impacted by Hurricane Michael. Activating this process will get funds to affected communities more quickly by providing 50 percent of estimated project costs upfront and requiring less initial review.
In January, FDEM also implemented new procedures to accelerate FEMA reimbursements to communities impacted by hurricanes Irma, Matthew and Hermine. Previously, the Division required projects to be 100-percent validated before any funding was awarded. Under the new process, half of the funds are awarded when a project is 50-percent validated, while the Division continues to work with applicants to provide funding as projects continue to be validated.
Since January 8, Governor DeSantis has announced several major hurricane recovery awards, including:
- On April 9, Governor DeSantis announced that Collier County received $40.9 million for Hurricane Irma recovery. Find that announcement HERE.
- On April 19, Governor DeSantis announced that Bay County received $18.5 million for Hurricane Michael recovery. Find that announcement HERE.
- On June 4, Governor DeSantis announced that Miami-Dade County is receiving $78.1 million for Hurricane Irma recovery. Find that announcement HERE.
