- A presidential disaster declaration for the state of Florida unlocked FEMA funding for neighbors impacted by May 10 tornadoes.
- Funding is available for temporary housing and home repair costs. Loans are also available for uninsured property losses.
- Watch the video to hear how the FEMA aid could also help the city and county:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
More aid is arriving for neighbors impacted by May 10th’s tornadoes. This time it’s from FEMA.
Tuesday morning, the White House made a disaster declaration for the state of Florida, unlocking funding for neighbors in need of more help.
This comes 39 days after three tornadoes touched down in Tallahassee, with 174 homes destroyed, 742 houses with major damage and 780 with minor impact.
I spoke with Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters about the impact.
“In my 20 years with the county emergency management agency, we have never had this number of damaged homes from any of the previous disasters we’ve experienced," Peters said.
That’s why FEMA funding will be available to neighbors to help with costs of temporary housing and home repairs.
It will also give neighbors access to loans to cover uninsured property damage.
Neighbors aren’t the only ones eligible for the money.
They’re also offering public assistance to the City of Tallahassee, Leon County, the school board and other government entities.
I checked in with the city to learn more about those financial impacts. Mayor John Dailey said the storm came with a hefty price tag.
“Paying the out-of-town crews for restoring electricity, picking up debris by other private entities," Dailey said. "Here in the city of Tallahassee, we spent $50 million on this one, three tornado storm.”
Assistance will also be available for government organizations in Gadsden, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla and three other counties in our area.
For our Tallahassee community, the mayor said the FEMA assistance is…“…A big win for our community."
Check to disasterassistance.gov for the application for assistance. You can also download the FEMA app or call their hotline at 800-621-3362.
