Joe Biden declares major disaster declaration for Florida in wake of Hurricane Helene

Image via AP.

President Joe Biden is declaring Florida a major federal disaster area in the wake of Hurricane Helene and the destruction it inflicted on the state.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Sunday morning that federal disaster assistance is now available for multiple counties Helene raked as it plowed into the Gulf Coast and Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 storm Thursday evening. However, several counties not in the Big Bend area are also eligible for federal assistance as Helen pushed massive storm surges throughout most of Florida’s West Coast.

“The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor, and Wakulla counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” a FEMA news release said Sunday.

Additional federal funding can help tribal lands, some governments, and nonprofit organizations, along with cost-sharing programs that sustained damage, but maybe not as much as the immediate impact areas of the hurricane. Those counties include Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor, and Wakulla counties.

There are additional hazard mitigation programs available statewide and on a cost-sharing basis.

For now, John E. Brogan is the Federal Coordination Officer for those programs, appointed to oversee the federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

As of Sunday morning, there were at least 64 deaths blamed on Hurricane Helene in the United States. While the Big Bend area of Florida, especially Steinhatchee and Cedar Key, among other rural areas, sustained heavy damage more than most other areas, flash floods and wide-scale devastation in multiple states north of Florida saw equally stunning catastrophes.