IRMA: Monroe County Financial Updates

HURRICANE IRMA FINANCIAL UPDATE

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Monroe County Assistance Programs

INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE, FLOOD INSURANCE, DISASTER LOANS

• FEMA has provided $66 million in grants to more than 16,000 Monroe County homeowners and renters, as of Sept. 4, 2018. FEMA grants can include money for temporary rental assistance, home repairs and other needs not covered by insurance, such as replacing destroyed personal property. More than 9,500 households received temporary rental assistance.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration, a FEMA partner, has approved $184 million in disaster loans for homeowners, renters and business owners in Monroe County. This includes about 2,000 home loans for $113 million and about 600 business and economic injury loans for $71 million.
• The National Flood Insurance Program, which is part of FEMA, has paid about $264 million in flood insurance claims for Monroe County policyholders (as of Sept. 4, 2018). More than 7,000 claims were filed.
• FEMA and the State of Florida opened four Disaster Recovery Centers in Monroe County, the most of any county in the state.
• FEMA conducted more than 21,000 home inspections in Monroe County to verify losses and determine eligibility for assistance.

TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE

• Residents of 2,921 Monroe County households who had uninhabitable primary residences and encountered difficulty finding a place to rent stayed in hotels at FEMA’s expense under the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. At the request of the State, the program lasted for six months and was extended five times.
• FEMA, the State of Florida and Monroe County are working with charitable organizations on case management for the households. Voluntary, charitable and faith-based groups have offered housing to survivors.

PRIVATE INSURANCE

By law, FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments or assistance from other agencies or programs. Nearly 30,200 private insurance claims have been filed in Monroe County, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s Hurricane Irma webpage.

STEP PROGRAM

• Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) was activated in Monroe County as a life safety measure to protect public health and safety and to enable survivors to shelter at home. Construction has been completed for 132 homeowners.
• Participating in STEP did not prevent Monroe County survivors from getting additional assistance from FEMA’s Individual Assistance program for rental assistance and home repairs.

DIRECT HOUSING FROM FEMA

• In Monroe County, 243 households have stayed temporarily in housing supplied by FEMA, including 215 in temporary travel trailers and 28 in properties leased by FEMA. As of Sept. 4, 2018, FEMA continues to provide direct housing for 126 Monroe County households, including 104 in travel trailers and 22 in leased properties.
• All eligible survivors have been housed. To remain eligible for FEMA’s emergency temporary housing, survivors must continue to work on a permanent housing plan.
• FEMA makes determinations about continued eligibility for direct housing on a monthly basis by speaking with survivors about their progress.

DESTROYED BOATS/MARINE DEBRIS

FEMA mission assigned the U.S. Coast Guard under ESF-10 to conduct cleanup and removal operations of displaced vessels in Florida waterways. More than 2,300 damaged or destroyed boats were removed in a joint effort by the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, including about 1,676 vessels in the Florida Keys. This mission assignment is expected to cost about $15.7 million in the Keys.Opens a New Window.  Opens a New Window. Opens a New Window.