The National Flood Insurance Program paid $4.38 billion for more than 47,000 claims filed after last year’s Hurricane Ian, according to information the Federal Emergency Management Agency released Wednesday.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall in September 2022 in Southwest Florida and crossed the state, causing widespread flooding.
Residents who have mortgages on properties in designated flood zones are required to have flood insurance, which is mostly purchased through the federal program. Residential property-insurance policies cover wind damage, but not flood damage.
Meanwhile, additional disaster assistance has been made available to Florida to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Ian between Sept. 23 – Nov. 4, 2022.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said President Biden authorized the federal cost-share for public assistance to be increased from 75% to 90% of total eligible costs.
“It has been a little over a year since Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers and surrounding communities in Florida. Sadly, more than 140 people lost their lives, and over 33,000 survivors were displaced from their homes,” Criswell said. “However, Floridians remained strong in the face of this tragedy, and with the support of our federal, state and local partners, we have used every tool at our disposal to help Florida recover from this disaster. To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has provided over $8 billion in federal assistance, and this latest cost-share adjustment means that even more federal assistance is on the way. The road to recovery is long, and at times difficult, but FEMA will be there every step of the way.”
To date, federal support following Hurricane Ian for Florida totaled $8.69 billion:
- FEMA provided $1.13 billion in grants to more than 386,000 households in 26 counties.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration approved $1.94 billion in disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses.
- FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program paid $4.38 billion for more than 47,300 claims filed.
- FEMA obligated more than $1.8 billion to reimburse state and local applicants for emergency response, debris removal and repair or replacement of public facilities.
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