The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this Sunday that federal disaster assistance is now available for Florida, aimed at complementing recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
President Biden posted on X that he would try to visit the affected communities as long as his visit does not disrupt the immediate recovery process from the damage caused by the hurricane in Florida and in states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
In the case of Florida, the approval by President Biden allows federal funds to be made available to those affected in the counties of Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor, and Wakulla.
The assistance includes grants for temporary housing and repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs designed to help individuals and business owners recover from the disaster.
In addition, federal funds have been made available for eligible state and local governments, as well as for nonprofit private organizations, in the form of cost-sharing for emergency work.
Funds are also available for risk mitigation measures throughout the state.
Affected individuals and businesses can request assistance by registering at www.disasterassistance.gov, calling 1-800-621-3362, or using the FEMA app.
For those who use retransmission services, they are asked to provide FEMA with the number of that service.
Helene leaves devastation in Florida: Residents try to rebuild after the hurricane.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region, leaving in its wake a trail of total destruction, as if a bomb had exploded.
In Steinhatchee, in Taylor County, residents are in shock as they had been trying to recover from previous storms for 18 months.
Despite the apparent calm of the tide, the damage is evident throughout the city, with homes and businesses devastated near the marina. Even the concrete restaurants couldn't withstand the force of the hurricane.
The impact of Helene not only left structural damage but also caused severe destruction in a condominium building, where the windows blew out and left huge holes in the apartments.
Taylor County has been declared an unsafe area, with many structures near the water still submerged, even three days after the hurricane.
Reconstruction experts estimate that it will take at least six months to return to normality in the region.
Despite the devastation, the community has shown immense solidarity. Distribution lines for supplies and donations of clothing and food have been organized for residents who still do not have electricity.
Damages from Helene in the United States
Hurricane Helene, now downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, has left at least 107 dead - a number that continues to rise - and significant damage in five states in the southeastern United States.
Most of the fatalities have been recorded in the state of North Carolina, with up to 30 deaths in Buncombe County.
The authorities have also received notifications about 600 missing persons, although it is expected that a large number of them are alive and that their current situation is due to a lack of access to telecommunications networks.
Around 2.1 million people are without electricity access in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Virginia.
The authorities continue to work on rescue and recovery efforts in areas affected by flooding, tornadoes, and hurricane-force winds.
Helene is expected to dissipate this Monday, although the National Hurricane Center warned of possible heavy rainfall in the valleys of Tennessee and Ohio, extending to the Appalachian Mountains, where record flooding is anticipated.
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