TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Several Florida counties are now eligible for federal assistance with ongoing recovery from Hurricane Hermine.
Leon County estimates Hermine's impact cost $8.3 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides public and individual assistance.
"This was a Category 1 hurricane -- widespread damage throughout the community," said Leon County emergency management director Kevin Peters. "This is not a normal situation, so this type of assistance to help people get beyond this abnormality in life -- it's huge."
Leon County is the only local county to receive both public and individual assistance. In the days following Hermine, officials gathered info about damage in the county.
"We submitted that to the state of Florida, which was consolidated with damage impacts from homes in other counties for a cumulative total that was submitted by the governor to the president for disaster declaration," Peters said.
With public assistance, FEMA reimburses 75 percent of eligible costs. For this particular funding, the state of Florida is reimbursing half of the remaining cost for eligible counties.
"Any costs related to our debris clearance, our electric restoration, costs for overtime hours, for extra security and extra patrols in the community -- and any replacement or repair of government infrastructure that was damaged, whether that's roads or building or equipment," Peters said.
Individual assistance provides up to $33,000 of reimbursement for eligible costs -- which include temporary housing, emergency home repairs, personal property loss, and medical and funeral expenses caused by a disaster.
Peters says FEMA personnel will be visiting communities and neighborhoods with damage from Hermine.
"They'll be going door to door, so citizens can register FEMA assistance at their doorstep," Peters said. "As the FEMA personnel arrive, they'll have tablets, and they can do registrations in the field."
Counties are also eligible for "hazard mitigation" funding, which provides financial aid to local governments to find ways to reduce damage from natural disasters like Hermine.
Peters says most mitigation initiatives in the county are related to flood hazards in the community. Tallahassee and Leon County have a joint FEMA-approved local mitigation strategy (LMS), which can be found on the city's website.
"Without that FEMA-approved document, we would not be eligible for these hazard mitigation funds," Peters said, "so, things that we've identified that may make future flooding and some wind impacts less dramatic in the future, we'll be able to fund hopefully some of those projects with this hazard mitigation funding."
The last time Leon County used FEMA funds for hazard mitigation was 2008, when the county spent millions after Tropical Storm Faye.
The City of Tallahassee provided WTXL with the following statement:
"Utilizing FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, the City is looking to replenish funds that were used in the response and ongoing recovery efforts related to Hurricane Hermine including infrastructure repair and debris removal. Additionally, any hazard mitigation funds received could be used to upgrade infrastructure enhancing our storm resiliency."
**To apply for FEMA assistance, visit this website. Individuals are required to enter their address and answer specific questions about their needs.
