Biden-Harris Administration Approves $441 Million to Helene Survivors, and $349 Million in Funding to Support Communities, As President Biden Approves Major Disaster[...]

WASHINGTON - FEMA remains fully committed to assisting survivors affected by Helene and Milton as response teams work tirelessly to address immediate needs. Yesterday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell returned to North Carolina to oversee ongoing response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene. President Biden will visit Florida tomorrow to support communities impacted by Hurricane Milton.

In response to Hurricane Milton, President Biden approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Florida that allows FEMA to provide federal funding to 34 counties, in addition to the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. This includes assistance to individuals and households, in addition to public assistance for emergency work.

Throughout the Southeast, FEMA personnel are on the ground, working closely with state officials to ensure survivors receive the support they need. As of today, FEMA has approved $441 million in assistance for individuals affected by Hurricane Helene and over $349 million in public assistance funding to help rebuild communities.

Hurricane Milton Recovery Update

While Hurricane Milton has passed, flooding is expected to continue throughout the weekend. People in Milton-affected areas should continue following safety guidance from local officials - stay clear of downed power lines and continue to practice power outage and generator safety.

Power Restoration:Power restoration efforts have significantly improved across the region following Hurricane Milton, with outages decreasing from a peak of 3.3 million to 1.6 million, as crews work around the clock to bring communities back online.

Debris: FEMA is currently working with state and local officials on debris removal plans for areas affected by the storms. Residents should pay attention to local guidance related to debris removal in their area.

Staffing:More than 600 FEMA staff are on the ground providing support to affected communities. FEMA mobilized search and rescue teams, disaster response units and vital resources across Florida. Urban Search and Rescue continue to support state search and rescue teams, the National Guard and local authorities with rescues. Federal teams supplemented the state's critical operations, such as water rescues, Emergency Operations Center support, volunteer and donations management and fire/HAZMAT response.

Sheltering: Over 50 shelters are currently housing over 3,100 people impacted by Milton, a significant decrease from nearly 13,000 yesterday.

Commodities:FEMA has delivered more than 1.6 million meals and 400,000 liters of water to augment the state's supplies. FEMA has an additional 5.3 million meals and 3.9 million liters of water available to support survivors of Hurricane Milton, ensuring critical supplies are ready for immediate distribution.

Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts

FEMA has approved $441 million in federal disaster assistance for Hurricane Helene survivors and over $349 million in public assistance funding to help communities rebuild.

Hurricane Helene recovery efforts continue, with federal responders working throughout the region to provide immediate and long-term support. FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers are open across the region to provide support.

The agency is actively working alongside state, local and tribal partners to assess damage and support those affected by Helene. Over 10,000personnel from across the federal workforce, including FEMA staff, are deployed to affected communities. To date, FEMA has delivered over 12.6 million meals and more than 12.9million liters of water to the region.

Disaster survivors in certain areas of Georgia,Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia can begin their recovery process by applying for federal assistance through FEMA. People with damage to their homes or personal property who live in the designated areas should apply for assistance, which may include upfront funds to help with essential items like food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies and other emergency supplies. Funds may also be available to repair storm-related damage to homes and personal property, as well as assistance to find a temporary place to stay. Homeowners and renters with damage to their home or personal property from previous disasters, whether they received FEMA funds or not, are still eligible to apply for and receive assistance for Helene.

There are three ways to apply for FEMA assistance:

• Calling the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362.
• Online by visiting disasterassistance.gov.
• Downloading and applying on the FEMA App.

Support for North Carolina

Financial Support: FEMA has approved more than $79 million in housingand other types of assistance for over 62,000 households.

Power and Cellular Restoration: More than 95% of originally reported power outages have been restored. Cellular restoration continues to improve, with more than 92% of cellular sites in service as of today.

Staffing: As response efforts continue in North Carolina, more than 1,200 FEMA staff are on the ground providing support to affected communities. Over 250 Urban Search and Rescue personnel remain in the field helping people. These teamshave rescued or supported over 3,200 survivors to date.

Sheltering: More than 1,800 families who cannot return home are staying in safe and clean lodging through FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. Under FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, residents in declared counties who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible to stay temporarily in a hotel or motel paid for by FEMA while they work on their long-term housing plan. FEMA will notify applicants of their eligibility for this assistance through an automated phone call, text message and/or email, depending upon the method of communication they selected at the time of application for disaster assistance. Shelter numbers continue to decline, with 15 shelters housing just over 500 occupants.

Commodities: Commodity distribution, mass feeding, and hydration operations remain in areas of western North Carolina. Voluntary organizations are supporting feeding operations with bulk food and water deliveries coming via truck and aircraft. Mobile feeding operations are helping survivors in heavily affected areas, including mass feeding sites in Buncombe and Watauga counties serving locations across the impacted areas.

Resources

• There are more than 300 Disaster Survivor Assistance members going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors without cell coverage or power.
• There are three Disaster Recovery Centers now open, where survivors can speak directly with FEMA and state personnel for assistance with their recovery. To find the nearest center, visit FEMA.gov/DRC.
• Residents can visit: ncdps.gov/helene to get information and additional assistance.
• Residents can get in touch with loved ones by calling 2-1-1 or visiting unitedwaync.org to add them to search and rescue efforts.

Support for Florida

As Helene recovery efforts continue in Florida, FEMA has approved more than $157 million for over 51,800 households. FEMA specialists are canvassing Florida communities affected by Helene to help survivors apply for assistance. Additionally, FEMA inspectors are visiting applicants' homes to verify disaster-caused damage.

There are 97 FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance members going into neighborhoods, and three Disaster Recovery Centers are open where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Additional centers will reopen following assessments to the facilities following Milton. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.

Residents in need of information or resources should call the State Assistance Information Line (SAIL) at 1-800-342-3557. English, Spanish and Creole speakers are available to answer questions.

Support for South Carolina

As recovery efforts continue in South Carolina, FEMA has approved over $106 million for more than 121,500 households. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods across the affected counties continuing to help survivors apply for FEMA assistance and connect them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.

There are 73 Disaster Survivor Assistancemembers going into neighborhoods and one Disaster Recovery Center open where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.

Residents with questions on Helene can call the state's toll-free hotline, open 24 hours a day, at 1-866-246-0133.

Residents who are dependent on medical equipment at home and who are without power due to Helene may be eligible for a medical needs shelter. Call the state's Department of Public Health Care Line at 1-855-472-3432 for more information.

Support for Georgia

FEMA has approved over $85 million for more than 92,300 households. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods across the affected counties helping survivors apply for FEMA assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.

There are 129 Disaster Survivor Assistance members going into neighborhoods and two Disaster Recovery Centers open where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.

Resources: Residents can find resources like shelters and feeding sites at gema.georgia.gov/hurricane-helene.

Support for Virginia

To date, FEMA has approved over $3.2 million for over 1,000 households. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods across the affected counties helping survivors apply for FEMA assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.

There are about 38 Disaster Survivor Assistance members going into neighborhoods, and three Disaster Recovery Centers open where survivors can speak to state and federal personnel to help with their recovery. Survivors may find their closest center by visiting FEMA.gov/DRC.

Residents can find resources like shelters and feeding sites at: Recover - Hurricane Helene | VDEM (vaemergency.gov)

Support for Tennessee

FEMA has approved more than $9 million for disaster assistance for over 1,800 households. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams are on the ground in neighborhoods across the affected counties helping survivors apply for FEMA assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources.

There are more than 39 Disaster Survivor Assistance members going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors without cell coverage or power.

Counties continue to establish donation centers. For the evolving list, visit TEMA's website.

Voluntary Organizations

Voluntary organizations are also providing personnel and resources to the hardest hit areas. The American Red Cross has hundreds of trained disaster workers providing comfort and operating shelters. Additionally, they are helping find loved ones through their helpline 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or by the Red Cross Hurricane Helene Reunification page where people can enter pertinent information about the person they're looking for. If someone is missing a child related to this disaster or any other incident, they need to call 9-1-1 and then 1-800-THE-LOST to receive assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

FEMA remains steadfast in its mission to support survivors as they begin their recovery from these historic storms. The agency will continue to work with federal, state, and local partners to ensure the safety and well-being of those impacted by Milton and Helene.

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