Florida Division of Emergency Management Celebrates Accomplishments Since January 8
Today, following Governor Ron DeSantis' State of the State Address, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz issued the following statement:
"I applaud Governor DeSantis for his bold leadership, decisive action and ongoing commitment to helping the communities in the Panhandle recover from Hurricane Michael.
"On his first full day in office, I had the honor of joining the Governor in Mexico Beach, where we pledged that we were going to take a hard look at all of the division’s processes and programs to ensure we are taking every step possible to help our communities recover.
"Since day one of the Governor's administration, this agency has remained laser focused on finding ways to support recovering communities and helping to get funding out the door as quickly as possible, including:
- The President has granted Governor DeSantis' request for 45 days of 100 percent federal cost-share for Hurricane Michael debris removal and emergency protective measures. Originally, only five days of 100 percent cost-share was granted by the federal government, and this increase is a request that only the President can grant. This increase is estimated to save Florida communities hundreds of millions of dollars.
- DEM has provided the first Hurricane Michael public assistance payment of $2.4 million to Mexico Beach, and has updated division policies to allow for expedited projects, which will result in the division providing funding to communities more quickly.
- DEM has requested that FEMA activate the Community Disaster Loan program to help with Hurricane Michael recovery, and FEMA is in the Panhandle this week to meet with interested communities.
- Following a change to FEMA policy, DEM has issued the first public assistance award to a House of Worship in Florida’s history. The Harvest Worship Center in Panama City received an initial $25,000 reimbursement for hurricane cleanup and recovery.
- DEM continues to work diligently to provide funding for citrus growers impacted by Hurricane Irma. To date, the Division has provided more than $23.5 million in funding and continues to meet with growers to help them through the application process.
"I look forward to continuing to work closely with Governor DeSantis and local governments throughout the state to ensure that Florida not only completely recovers from past storms, but is prepared for potential future disasters."
Updated: Tuesday, March 5, 2019
