It’s been three and a half months since Hurricane Ian made landfall near Sanibel Island and swept across the state causing an estimated $50 to 65 billion in insured damages and killing more than 100 people just here in Florida.
While many people moved quickly to seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the storm hit, for anyone who has still not filed a claim, the deadline is tomorrow, Thursday, January 12. Homeowners and renters have until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow night to file a claim for property loss, or damage to property, from Hurricane Ian.
The deadline for businesses to return economic injury applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is June 29.
Click here to see locations of FEMA Disaster Recovery Assistance Centers that are still open.
Click here to file an individual claim.
In an effort to get the details out one last time for anyone who has waited to apply, we spoke with Keith Denning, he is a Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer with FEMA.
Recovery Assistance Details Provided by FEMA
FEMA has provided $871 million to households affected by Hurricane Ian and $503 million to the state for emergency response to Hurricane Ian, while the U.S. Small Business Administration has provided $1.42 billion in disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.72 billion in claims to Hurricane Ian survivors.
Additionally, FEMA has also received 4,059 valid registrations from Hurricane Nicole survivors.
FEMA Continues to Help Floridians Affected by Hurricane Ian
FEMA has made individual assistance available to 26 counties in Florida affected by Hurricane Ian. Residents in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties are eligible to apply for Individual Assistance. Deadline for applications is Jan. 12, 2023.
FEMA is meeting survivors affected by Hurricane Ian where they are to help jumpstart their recoveries. Disaster Survivor Assistance specialists are going door-to-door in Florida neighborhoods to help individuals register for assistance. These teams have visited more than 352,000 homes and interacted with more than 152,000 survivors in counties designated for individual assistance after Hurricane Ian.
20 Disaster Recovery Centers are operating in areas affected by Hurricane Ian, with nearly 109,900 visits by survivors.
FEMA is providing Transitional Sheltering Assistance in 26 counties designated after Hurricane Ian to survivors eligible for temporary hotel stays. As of today, the program is providing housing for 1,639 households with 3,999 members.
Hundreds of FEMA inspectors have performed more than 259,000 home inspections for Hurricane Ian survivors who applied for federal disaster assistance.
FEMA is providing temporary housing to eligible Hurricane Ian survivors in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Lee, Sarasota and Volusia counties. FEMA approved Direct Temporary Housing Assistance to provide options for those whose homes are uninhabitable because of the hurricane. FEMA determined that rental assistance is insufficient to meet the housing need in those counties because of a lack of available housing resources. FEMA is notifying applicants who are eligible for direct housing. It will take time to transport, permit, install and inspect these units before they are available. Direct Temporary Housing Assistance may be provided for up to 18 months from Sept. 29, 2022, the date of the federal disaster declaration, to March 28, 2024.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $1.42 billion in low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and business owners affected by Hurricane Ian. Business Recovery Centers are located in Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee and Seminole counties.
As of Jan. 9, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has received more than 45,500 flood insurance claims and paid more than $1.72 billion to policyholders affected by Hurricane Ian.
National Flood Insurance Program Florida policyholders who had flood damage from Hurricane Ian have a 90-day window to renew their policies. The extension applies to policies with renewal dates beginning Aug. 25, 2022 through Oct. 23, 2022. Policyholders whose renewal date is in this range should contact their agent or insurance company. FEMA also extended the proof of loss requirement for flood insurance policyholders in Florida who experienced flood damage from Hurricane Ian from 60 to 365 days. For more information on how to file a flood insurance claim, visit How to Start Your Flood Insurance Claim.
Operation Blue Roof installed 20,119 roofs in Charlotte, Collier, Desoto, Lee and Sarasota counties. (Mission completed.)
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