TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) — Florida has spent $1.13 billion responding to Hurricane Michael, a figure that could more than double.
Hurricane Michael made landfall Oct. 10 in Mexico Beach as a Category Four storm.
The state's costs have been tied to issues like assisting Northwest Florida communities with massive amounts of debris removal.
Senate President Bill Galvano says the state has already spent more responding to the October hurricane than it did in responding to Hurricane Irma, which caused damage to a wider area of the state in September 2017.
"I had put a number out there, $1.1 billion, and I was hoping that was on the high end. But that's where we are currently," said Galvano. "And based on projections, we probably have another $750 million that are in the queue."
Galvano estimates the total amount spent on response efforts related to Michael will be around $2.7 billion.
Several lawmakers have also criticized the federal spending package approved last week after it did not include disaster relief for the Panhandle.
