As I travel across our state, the devastation from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene is heartbreaking. Recovery begins right now, and it’s a long road, but Floridians are resilient. Together, we will get through this. As communities assess their damage, get roads back open and power back on, I remain in constant communication with local leaders to ensure they have everything they need from the federal government. I have also been in constant contact with FEMA to ensure the federal response to Milton is in total collaboration with state and local governments to provide relief to impacted Floridians and ensure complete and total recovery.
I’ve made a promise to every Floridian working to recover: I’m going to be there every step of the way to make sure the federal government, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business Administration (SBA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) all SHOW UP as a partner today, tomorrow and every day until Florida is fully recovered.
I’ve spoken to President Joe Biden following Hurricane Milton’s landfall about our state’s response and recovery efforts. I told him I am 100% focused on making sure FEMA, the SBA, HUD and USDA are fully funded for disaster recovery and have boots on the ground until Florida is fully recovered. This follows my meeting with President Biden last week following Hurricane Helene, along with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and other leaders in Steinhatchee, where I urged President Biden to fully support the requests of the State of Florida, including USDA block grants for Florida’s farmers. See more about our meeting HERE. I also called SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to reiterate this directly and make sure Floridians are getting the help they need.
I know there may be some concerns about what the process will look like for you as you recover from Milton and continue recovering from Helene. I’ve spoken to FEMA and want you to know, especially as more counties are approved for individual assistance because of Hurricane Milton, you must apply for assistance for Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton separately, meaning if you were impacted by more than one storm, you should treat each storm as an individual occurrence when applying for assistance and reporting damage. For more information on Hurricane Helene individual assistance, click HERE. For information on Hurricane Milton, click HERE. For more information about Hurricane Debby, click HERE.
