Florida Division of Emergency Management Highlights Response and Recovery Efforts in 2024

12/26/2024

Florida Division of Emergency Management Highlights Response and Recovery Efforts in 2024

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) highlighted the State of Florida's emergency response and ongoing disaster recovery efforts in 2024.

"Thanks to the leadership and support of Governor DeSantis, the State of Florida sets the standard for emergency management across the country," said FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie. "FDEM is able to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and man-made hazards faster than ever before and pioneer new resiliency initiatives to not only provide support to our communities quickly after a disaster, but also to keep moving Florida forward as the national leader in emergency management."

2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season and Disaster Response

Hurricane Debby - Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, on August 5, 2024, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 80 mph. This is nearly the exact location where Hurricane Idalia made landfall the year prior. The resulting impacts from Hurricane Debby included downed trees and powerlines, power outages, 3-5 feet of storm surge along the southeast Florida Big Bend and Nature Coast and widespread flooding. The most significant impacts occurred across the Suwannee River Valley, where 10-15 inches of rainfall led to a prolonged flood event. Outer rainbands associated with Debby also produced significant rainfall totals across Sarasota and Manatee counties, where localized rainfall totals of 14-18 inches were observed.

• Emergency Services - Seven state Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Teams and four Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Swiftwater teams were deployed to support immediate relief operations, rescuing more than 150 Floridians.
• Infrastructure- At its peak, power outages affected 307,916 accounts, and complete restoration for those safely able to receive power was achieved within four days. The number of workers involved in power restoration efforts reached 19,061. After the storm, 150 crews completed damage assessments on over 10,000 miles of roads, and 181 crews completed cut and toss operations along more than 6,500 miles of Florida's roadways. In just one hour, emergency response crews pumped thousands of gallons of water off I-10 in Columbia County. To date, approximately 75,400 cubic yards of debris have been removed from state and county roads. Nearly 120 Starlinks were deployed to reestablish vital communications.
• Human Services- The Human Services Branch of the State Emergency Response Team supported the needs of impacted Floridians by delivering more than 104,000 meals, serving more than 57,000 hot meals from five kitchens and distributing nearly 7,000 food boxes.
• Logistics - The Logistics Section distributed more than 218,200 shelf-stable meals, more than 321,800 bottles of water, nearly 30 truckloads of ice and over 18,200 tarps throughout the 12 state-run Points of Distribution (PODs). To fight flooding impacts, more than 61,200 linear feet of Flood Control Systems were deployed, as well as 48 pumps to remove more than 591 million gallons of water. Nearly 100 generators were deployed.
• Recovery (Public Assistance) - At the request of Governor DeSantis, 26 counties received a Major Disaster Declaration with FEMA Public Assistance. As of December 3, 2024, over $146 million has been awarded to support state and local governments as communities continue to recover.

Hurricane Helene - Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26, 2024, as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds near 140 mph along the Florida Big Bend in Taylor County. Helene became the second hurricane to make landfall within the Florida Big Bend during the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, just 53 days after Hurricane Debby within a 20-mile section of the Taylor County coastline. A devastating storm surge of 5-10 feet above the normally dry ground was observed along the entire Florida West Coast, with the Big Bend and Nature Coast receiving over 15 feet in some locations.

• Emergency Services- During Hurricane Helene, 12 USAR Teams and eight Swiftwater teams totaling over 1,250 personnel focused on search and rescue efforts, rescuing more than 200 Floridians.
• Infrastructure- At its peak, power outages affected more than 1.2 million accounts, and complete restoration for those safely able to receive power was achieved within seven days. The number of workers involved in power restoration efforts reached 29,760. Over 2,100 FDOT team members worked on storm response; 61 cut and toss crews completely cleared I-10 in under six hours of the storm making landfall. Nearly 140,000 cubic yards of debris were removed, and 183 Starlinks were deployed.
• Human Services- The Human Services Branch supported the needs of impacted Floridians by delivering more than 671,600 meals, serving more than 306,100 hot meals from five food kitchens, and distributing nearly 49,000 food boxes. Additionally, the team assisted with sheltering 8,450 survivors in 99 shelters.
• Logistics - The Logistics Section distributed more than 1,056,500 shelf-stable meals, more than 1.5 million bottles of water, over 70 truckloads of ice, and nearly 55,000 tarps throughout the 37 state-run PODs. To fight flooding effects, 10,700 linear feet of Flood Control Systems were deployed, as well as more than 100 pumps that removed nearly 1.5 billion gallons of water. Nearly 600 generators were deployed.
• Recovery (Individual Assistance)- FEMA approved the state's request for Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) in all disaster-designated counties, and as of November 13, 2024, more than 6,600 households are checked in across nearly 700 hotels. FEMA also approved the state's request for Direct Temporary Housing for eight counties. As of November 13, 2024, more than 630 households have been booked into the State's Non-Congregate Sheltering (NCS) program. FDEM has also facilitated the donation of 515 travel trailers to local governments to support displaced households.
• Recovery (Public Assistance) - At the request of Governor DeSantis, 36 counties received a Major Disaster Declaration with Public Assistance. As of December 3, 2024, over $378 million has been awarded to support state and local governments as communities continue to recover.

Hurricane Milton - Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key on October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 Hurricane with maximum sustained winds around 120 mph. Prior to the center making landfall, Milton's outer bands spawned the most confirmed tornadoes of any single Florida tornado outbreak in modern records, with a total of 47 confirmed tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-3 across Central and South Florida. Milton produced a large area of heavy rainfall to the north of its center, with rainfall over 10-15 inches observed along and north of the I-4 corridor towards Gainesville, and more than 7-11 inches extending into Northeast Florida. Peak storm surge of 5-10 feet above normally dry ground was recorded in Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties, and higher surge values of more than 10-12 feet recorded at Faka Union Canal near Marco Island.

• Emergency Services - During Hurricane Milton, all eight state USAR Teams and 23 Federal USAR Teams, totaling over 1,700 personnel, were deployed to support search and rescue efforts, rescuing more than 1,800 Floridians.
• Infrastructure- At peak, power outages affected more than 3.3 million accounts and complete restoration for those safely able to receive power was achieved within seven days. The number of workers involved in power restoration efforts reached more than 54,800. Nearly 500 crew members cleared over 12,000 miles of roadway, and over 150 bridge inspectors reviewed and cleared over 2,400 bridges across the impacted areas. In total, over 3,000 truckloads removed nearly 55,000 cubic yards of debris, and more than 260 Starlinks were deployed.
• Human Services- The Human Services Branch supported the needs of impacted Floridians by delivering more than 5.8 million meals, serving more than 1.1 million hot meals from 16 kitchens and distributing nearly 125,000 food boxes. Additionally, the team assisted with sheltering more than 83,000 survivors in 282 shelters. As the state responded to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, for the first time in Florida, nine different Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) deployed. CERT recorded over 12,400 worked hours for a value of nearly $395,000. Since October, the Multi-Agency Donation Warehouse has conducted nearly 100 deliveries of $1.3 million worth of donations, with staff working 2,680 volunteer hours for both storms. Likewise, over 200 Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) coordinated with partners at the State Emergency Operations Center and assisted in filling critical needs during both response and recovery. Generators provided by the SERT powered critical infrastructure and prevented over $2 million in economic losses for Florida's strawberry and aquaculture producers.
• Logistics - The Logistics Section distributed more than 1.2 million shelf-stable meals, more than 1.5 million bottles of water, 70 truckloads of ice and nearly 84,000 tarps throughout the 35 state-run PODs. To fight flooding effects, 35,500 linear feet of Flood Control Systems were deployed, along with nearly 240 pumps that pumped more than 3.3 billion gallons of water. Nearly 820 generators were deployed.
• Recovery (Individual Assistance) - At the request of Governor DeSantis, 34 counties received a Major Disaster Declaration with Individual Assistance. FEMA approved the state's request for TSA in all disaster-designated counties, and as of November 13, 2024, more than 10,600 households are checked in across nearly 800 hotels. FEMA approved the state's request for Direct Temporary Housing for five counties. As of November 13, 2024, nearly 120 households have been booked into the State NCS program. FDEM has also facilitated the donation of 153 travel trailers to local governments to support displaced households.
• Recovery (Public Assistance) - At the request of Governor DeSantis, 36 counties received a Major Disaster Declaration with Public Assistance. As of December 3, 2024, over $972 million has been awarded to support state and local governments as communities continue to recover.

January Severe Weather - A low-pressure system, with its strong cold front, swept along the Gulf Coast and through Florida January 8-9, 2024, producing a significant tornado and straight-line wind event across North and Central Florida. This line of strong to severe thunderstorms produced damaging wind gusts (50-70 mph) and embedded tornadoes. Damage assessments conducted by the National Weather Service determined a total of 14 tornadoes, including one EF-3, three EF-2, seven EF-1 and three EF-0, as well as two straight-line wind swaths of maximum sustained winds of 75 mph in Sarasota County and 100 mph in Santa Rosa County, occurred.

• Emergency Services - One Technical Rescue team, and one Florida Forest Service Saw Team were deployed to support response efforts, and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) provided vehicle escorts and security for electrical restoration teams.
• Infrastructure- At its peak, power outages affected more than 87,000 accounts and complete restoration for those safely able to receive power was achieved within approximately two days.

Haiti Repatriation Efforts - On March 15, in anticipation of a potential influx of illegal immigrants from Haiti due to heightened gang violence and rising political instability endangering Floridians and halting commercial transportation, Governor Ron DeSantis ordered state assets to the Keys and southern waters of the State of Florida. A call center was activated to facilitate communication with U.S. citizens seeking repatriation, and more than 700 Americans were successfully rescued from Haiti. Upon return to Florida, residents connected at a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) to receive access to resources including, but not limited to, food, water, medical treatment and transportation home.

May North Florida Tornadoes - On the morning of May 10, a line of strong to severe thunderstorms ahead of a frontal boundary brought multiple weather hazards across North Florida, including heavy rain, thunderstorms, significant straight-line winds, damaging wind gusts, isolated large hail and several tornadoes. These resulted in utility disruptions and widespread power outages, downed trees and damage to homes and businesses in several counties along the Florida Panhandle, including Santa Rosa and Leon counties. At least six tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-2 occurred as the storms moved along the I-10 corridor, including several in Leon County and the Tallahassee area.

• Emergency Services - One Urban Forest Strike Team was deployed to support emergency service workers navigate response efforts. FHP provided traffic control at multiple intersections for multiple nights in Leon County.
• Infrastructure- Crews performed road clearance and cut and toss activities on state and requested local roads. Four generators were deployed to retail gas stations.
• Human Services - The Human Services Branch, in coordination with the Salvation Army and American Red Cross (ARC), serviced residents with more than 9,700 hot meals and more than 1,700 food boxes with respect to community nutrition. Infant needs were addressed by distributing 31,500 baby diapers and more than 1,200 cans of baby formula. VOADs including Southern Baptist, Team Rubicon, Global Methodist and Faith Responders supported clean up and residential requests, and Samaritan's Purse managed a hotline to assist with tree removal and tarping.
• Logistics - The Logistics Section distributed nearly 115,000 shelf-stable meals, more than 1.6 million bottles of water and 7,000 tarps throughout the three state-run PODs.
• Recovery (Public Assistance)- At the request of Governor DeSantis, 13 counties received a Major Disaster Declaration with FEMA Public Assistance. As of December 3, 2024, almost $3 million has been awarded to support state and local governments as communities continue to recover.

South Florida Flooding - Significant flash flooding occurred with increasing severity over time along the urban Southeast Florida corridor in mid-June, courtesy of a stationary frontal boundary in close proximity to weak tropical disturbance, Invest 90L. This resulted in daily Flash Flood Warnings from June 11-13, with a rare Flash Flood Emergency issued the afternoon of June 12. From June 11-13, a total rainfall of 6-10 inches was measured across South Florida, with a swath of 10-15 inches across Collier, Broward and northern Miami-Dade counties. Rainfall totals were the greatest along I-75 in Alligator Alley and the urban corridor of southeast Broward and northeast Miami-Dade counties, where localized amounts of 15-20 inches were observed.

• Emergency Services- USAR Task Force 4 provided equipment to support Palm Beach County response efforts. FWC provided personnel, three HWVs, three airboats and one shallow draft vessel to Hallandale Beach for search and rescue operations.
• Infrastructure- Over 200 personnel and nearly 100 pieces of equipment were deployed for storm response.
• Human Services- The Human Services Branch partnered with the American Red Cross to serve more than 1,300 hot meals. The team also coordinated delivery of 11,000 hygiene kits and 7,900 flood buckets to impacted communities.
• Logistics - The Logistics Section distributed 5,760 shelf-stable meals and more than 6,000 bottles of water. To fight flooding effects, 11,200 linear feet of Flood Control Systems were deployed, as well as 46 pumps that pumped more than 1.6 million gallons of water.

Disaster Recovery Funding

Throughout the state's response efforts, FDEM prioritized disaster funding for communities impacted by recent disasters. FDEM has distributed almost $11.5 billion in critical disaster funding during Governor DeSantis' tenure - the most FDEM has ever paid out within six years. Disaster funding programs include:

• Public Assistance - FDEM distributed more than $8 billion in FEMA Public Assistance funding, helping communities rebuild after a disaster. This funding supports local governments recovering from recent disasters, including hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes and wildfires.
• Hurricane Idalia Emergency Preparedness Recovery Fund Loans - $12.8 million awarded in 2024 insurance deductible and small project loans.
• Hazard Mitigation Grant Program - FDEM approved over $25.3 million in long-term hazard mitigation projects in areas impacted by recent disasters to help build more resilient communities. A historic amount of HMGP funding has been allocated to Florida, totaling $273.9 million (not including Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton). FDEM also spearheaded a State-Run Residential Mitigation program, undertaking residential applications to help expedite the process for residents to mitigate and recover at a faster rate. Learn more about the Elevate Florida program here.

Disaster Recovery - Temporary Sheltering

• Hurricane Idalia - The State's NCS program supported 128 households with a safe, sanitary and secure place to stay while navigating their individual recovery plans. The program is concluding after 14 months of sheltering assistance and will facilitate more than 20 travel trailer donations to households.
• Hurricane Ian - The State's NCS program provided nearly 1,200 households with a safe, sanitary and secure place to stay while they navigated their individual recovery plans. After 22 months of sheltering assistance, the program concluded and facilitated 274 travel trailer donations to households. The state's limited home repair program completed 971 home repairs for eligible households through its partnership with 10 VOADs. FEMA approved the state's request to extend the Disaster Case Management Program until September 2025.

Debris Task Force

Due to the impacts along Florida's Big Bend and southwest coast this hurricane season, FDEM partnered with FWC, DEP and federal partners to establish a Debris Task Force to assist fiscally constrained counties and the southwest region of the state with debris removal operations.

Following Hurricane Helene and prior to Hurricane Milton, the Debris Task Force quickly coordinated with local government officials and state and federal representatives to gain insight into how to better address the counties' needs. This coordination led to removal operations commencing less than 18 days after landfall. In less than 90 days, more than 200,000 cubic yards of waterway debris and more than 80 derelict vessels were removed, with 600 currently under investigation by FWC.

Additionally, FDEM established the "Upland Abandoned Recycle" Program. Using upland abandoned vessels, the agency works with salvage companies to repurpose the materials into cement, fuel and building materials. Currently, FDEM has coordinated the disposal of 45 vessels.

Compared to Hurricanes Ian and Idalia, the Debris Task Force has removed three times as much debris and derelict vessels in less than 90 days following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. As of December 2024, more than 37 million cubic yards of upland debris and 263,000 cubic yards of waterway debris have been removed, which is on track to meet the Governor's directive of removing most of the debris within the first 90 days of the storm.

Mutual Aid

Due to the significant number of states that have provided Florida with assistance during times of need, FDEM always stands ready to assist and give aid to states responding to disasters. FDEM mutual aid efforts to help other states this year include:

• Texas Border Support - At the direction of Governor DeSantis, Florida assisted the State of Texas border protection efforts from January 2024 through December 2024 via Law Enforcement support from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), FHP and FWC.
• January Maine Flooding - Florida assisted with the January flooding by providing FDEM Recovery Individual Assistance staff.
• April Oklahoma Tornadoes - Florida deployed to the State of Oklahoma following tornado outbreaks in April 2024. Support was provided via All-Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT) local assets accompanied by FDEM support staff and services.
• April Texas Severe Weather- Florida provided a Type I Swiftwater with Search and Rescue team to Texas following severe weather and spring flooding.
• 2024 Republican National Convention - Assistance was provided to the State of Wisconsin related to Law Enforcement support for the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Eight teams were sent from Florida to support, including FHP and seven local entities, totaling more than 200 Law Enforcement personnel.
• New Mexico Summer Wildfires - FDEM coordinated the deployment of an eight person AHIMT from Southeast Florida to support New Mexico.
• North Carolina Helene- While still responding to the impacts of Hurricane Helene in Florida, the state rallied to support our regional partner states that were also impacted. In response to the devastation in North Carolina, FDEM coordinated support from FDLE, FWC, Florida State Guard (FSG), Florida National Guard (FLNG) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). In addition, FDEM was able to rally local community support to provide Telecommunicator Emergency Response Teams, Communications Task Forces, EOC Overhead Teams, AHIMT support and State Liaison and EOC support. Nearly 200 personnel were deployed to assist. Florida also donated 10 truckloads of water and 75 Starlinks. During the efforts in North Carolina, the FDOT rebuilt a bridge that allowed affected communities to be reconnected to one another and available services.
• South Carolina Helene- Florida provided South Carolina with a Florida National Guard Engineer Platoon to assist with debris missions following Tropical System Helene impacts.
• Tennessee Helene- Florida donated 26 Starlinks to Tennessee to assist with re-establishing communications. FDEM also coordinated assistance from FDOT to support and assist Tennessee with debris removal and strategy activities following Helene's impacts.

State Meteorology

WeatherSTEM- This year, 29 WeatherSTEM stations were installed across the state in support of growing the Florida Severe Weather Mesonet Network (FSWN). These automated weather stations observe, measure and track meteorological parameters. This project will continue with 28 additional stations, bringing the total number of WeatherSTEM stations statewide to 243 by the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

StormQuant- The Hyperlocal Weather Radar project, in coordination with StormQuant Inc., was completed this year and provides hyper-local, real-time weather data through the installation of three Doppler radars in strategic locations across the state, including Collier, Flagler and Marion counties. This data will also benefit the National Weather Service in verifying and issuing storm-based severe weather warnings and advisories, especially in these areas that would typically experience a lack of reliable radar coverage.

Expanding FDEM's Logistical Footprint to Enhance Response Capabilities

FDEM, in coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, procured a new hub facility for storing and moving emergency supplies in Florida and will begin moving into the facility in 2025. The addition of this new warehouse represents a significant enhancement to Florida's disaster response capabilities. Strategically located in Auburndale, the facility's central position within the state ensures faster and more efficient distribution of critical supplies to impacted areas during emergencies. Its more than 422,000 square feet of storage space provides ample capacity for essential resources such as water, food, tarps and medical supplies, while the 400 trailer spaces allow for seamless logistics coordination and rapid deployment of assets. With more than 270 car spaces, the warehouse also supports increased personnel surge capacity for operations during large-scale activations.

The facility's scale and modern infrastructure enable it to handle the complexities of multi-agency coordination, ensuring that Florida is better prepared to respond to hurricanes, wildfires and other emergencies. The investment in this facility underscores FDEM's commitment to building resilient systems and enhancing the state's readiness for any hazard.

Grant Programs

In 2024, FDEM administered over $244.4 million in the following preparedness grant programs for FY2024:

• $85.1 million in the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Program which assists high-threat, high-density urban areas in efforts to build, sustain and deliver the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from acts of terrorism.
• $64.3 million in the Federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to support target hardening and other physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations. The NSGP promotes emergency preparedness coordination and collaboration activities between public and private community representatives as well as state and local government agencies.
• $34.9 millionin the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) which assists state, tribal, territorial and local preparedness activities that address high-priority preparedness gaps across all core capabilities that support terrorism preparedness.
• $29.1 millionin the State Nonprofit Security Grant Program (FL-NSGP) to increase security and safety for nonprofit entities at high risk for violent attacks and hate crimes.
• $12.8 million in the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program, ensuring that all 67 counties within the State of Florida have the capabilities to prevent, prepare, protect, respond to and recover from disasters.
• $10.8 million in the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program (OPSG), which supports enhanced cooperation and coordination among Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, and federal, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies. The OPSG Program provides funding to support joint efforts to secure the United States' borders along routes of ingress from international borders to include travel corridors in states bordering Mexico and Canada, as well as states and territories with international water borders.
• $7.4 millionin the Emergency Management Performance and Assistance (EMPA) Program, assisting counties, Volunteer Florida and Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in implementing and administering county emergency management programs including management and administration, training and operations.

State Preparedness and Training

The State Training and Exercise (T&E) program ensures training and exercise opportunities for our first responders, emergency managers, government leaders, non-governmental partners and private citizens so they are equipped to perform when disasters strike. The state's Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) provides a roadmap to accomplish this function.

• In 2024, FDEM conducted 760 courses, training approximately 10,350 first responders, emergency managers, government leaders, non-governmental partners and private citizens.
• In June of 2024, FDEM hosted its first annual Florida's Training in Emergency Management (FTEM) Symposium in St. Augustine. The Symposium is designed to engage all Florida partners with industry-leading training and workshops. The Symposium hosted over 300 attendees, 20 workshops and 14 courses, including FDEM's Mid-Level Leadership Course.

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