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Associated PressNovember 3, 2016

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St. Augustine’s iconic Spanish fortress escaped serious harm during Hurricane Matthew, but more than 1,000 historic homes and buildings in north Florida’s landmark colonial city were damaged by the storm, according to preservationists. Experts with the University of Florida said water flooded all seven of St. Augustine’s federally designated historic districts last month, damaging about […]

Michael MolineOctober 31, 2016

Hurricane Matthew-related insurance claims have surpassed 100,000, with losses valued at $606 million. According to information posted on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website Monday morning, the total claims filed as of Friday totaled 100,589. They included 85,473 residential property claims; 4,872 for commercial property; and 4,245 involving federal and private flood insurance. Claims […]

Associated PressOctober 28, 2016

A federal judge wants to know why nearly 25,000 people who’ve applied to vote haven’t been registered in Florida. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has asked state election officials to tell him during a Friday hearing about their efforts to verify voter registration applications. Walker extended the voter registration deadline from Oct. 11 to Oct. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 27, 2016

In a Thursday letter to FEMA, Sen. Marco Rubio pressed the federal agency to clean hurricane debris off private roads in Northeast Florida. The letter notes that “counties have not been able to clean up hurricane debris on private roads due to impractical guidelines that threaten to revoke the counties’ eligibility for federal reimbursement.” The senator is […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 27, 2016

Note: a previous version of this piece asserted a connection between the family of Jacksonville CAO Sam Mousa and J.B. Coxwell. That connection was limited to Mousa having been an employee in the past. No current connection exists. We regret the error. Duval County and Jacksonville were spared the absolute worst of Hurricane Matthew’s fearsome […]

Associated PressOctober 26, 2016

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Days after Hurricane Matthew sent floodwaters surging through historic St. Augustine, the county’s director of homeless services was panicked. County officials had ordered people to stay indoors because of evening pesticide spraying to control a post-hurricane mosquito scourge. Yet the town’s only homeless shelter was inundated with water. With the autumn air turning chilly, there […]

Michael MolineOctober 25, 2016

The head of the National Flood Insurance Program conceded Tuesday the program has stumbled in responding to natural disasters, but said he has already begun changes intended to emphasize service to its customers. “If you want to know where the National Flood Insurance Program has stumbled, it’s when we no longer put the customer first,” […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 24, 2016

On Monday in Jacksonville, Gov. Rick Scott and Mayor Lenny Curry convened to discuss response to and recovery from Hurricane Matthew. In the fourth floor of Jacksonville’s Emergency Operations Center, Scott and Curry met along with a panoply of other state and city stakeholders. Media was allowed to observe a couple minutes of that meeting, in which the governor […]

Phil AmmannOctober 23, 2016

When Hurricane Matthew battered the East Coast, it killed dozens and caused catastrophic flooding in Florida and North Carolina, with losses estimated in the billions. This followed Hurricane Hermine, which tore through the Florida Panhandle and caused devastating floods in Louisiana. Meanwhile, West Virginia recently saw flash floods that tragically took 23 lives. These extreme […]

Guest AuthorOctober 21, 2016

Early estimates placed Florida’s total economic damage from Hurricane Matthew in the range of $25-$70 billion. With the weakening of the storm and a track that moved the storm eastward, the estimated damage from the storm dropped significantly, but that should not keep us from acknowledging the real threat Matthew was to Florida. Real estate […]

Tag: Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane: Many historic buildings in St. Augustine damaged

Hurricane Matthew insurance claims climb to $606 million

Federal judge to Florida: Why aren’t more people registered?

Marco Rubio to FEMA: Clean storm debris off private NE Florida roads

Jacksonville continues ‘aggressive’ approach to post-Matthew cleanup

Hurricane floods homeless housing in historic St. Augustine

Flood insurance chief concedes his program failed to put customers first

Rick Scott, Lenny Curry talk Hurricane Matthew response, recovery

Patrick Murphy & Dennis Ross: Disaster programs need to be proactive

Manley Fuller: Hurricane Matthew delivers another reminder of life on Florida’s coastline