President Donald Trump signed the major disaster declaration DR-4955-FL for Florida on Tuesday following Hurricane Isaias, enabling federal recovery funds for 15 counties in the northwest part of the state, as confirmed by the official records of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), updated this Wednesday.
The declaration covers exclusively Public Assistance (PA, for its acronym in English), a mechanism that reimburses local, state governments, and certain non-profit organizations for costs associated with debris removal, emergency protective measures, and repair of damaged infrastructure — it does not involve direct payments to families or residents.
The counties included in the designation are Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington, all located in the western Panhandle of Florida.
What is still not approved is equally relevant for thousands of affected individuals: the Individual Assistance (IA), which would directly benefit households with damages not covered by insurance, remains under review.
The Walton County confirmed this Wednesday in an official statement: "Individual Assistance for residents and households is still under review. Risk Mitigation assistance is also under review," noted the Walton Emergency Management Office.
Florida requested Individual Assistance for eight of the 15 designated counties: Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington, where nearly 1,000 homes have been preliminarily identified as damaged.
While that review is ongoing, residents should not attempt to register at DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA hotline: direct assistance is not yet available.
Isaiah made landfall near Destin on the night of October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 105 mph (169 km/h).
The impact was devastating in the Panhandle: around 448,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity in Florida, with Santa Rosa recording 90% of its customers without service and Escambia 75%. At least two people lost their lives as a direct consequence of the phenomenon.
Insured losses in the state reached approximately 582 million dollars, with around 55,000 claims submitted to insurers, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The state requested nearly 237 million dollars from FEMA to cover public infrastructure, debris removal, and emergency measures.
Governor Ron DeSantis had formally submitted the request for a major disaster declaration on October 15 —twelve days before its approval— after declaring a state of emergency on October 6 through Executive Order 26-202.
It is worth noting that Miami-Dade and Broward, where a significant portion of the Cuban community in Florida resides, are not included in any of the designations of the DR-4955-FL declaration.
The Walton Emergency Management Office warned that "additional assistance programs and county designations may be approved as damage assessments continue," so affected residents should stay alert to official communication channels for possible updates.
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