Florida - Monday August 28, 2023: President Biden has approved Governor Ron DeSantis' request for an emergency declaration for Florida ahead of the expected landfall on Tuesday night or early Wednesday of soon to become Hurricane Idalia.
The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the damage and suffering to the local population caused by the storm.
As a result the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced that federal disaster assistance is now available to the state of Florida to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts. Specifically, FEMA is authorized to provide federal funding for up to 75% of the cost of equipment and other resources as necessary.
The emergency declaration applies to the following 33 Florida counties: Alachua, Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties.
Monday afternoon, Governor DeSantis added 13 more north central and north east Florida counties to the emergency declaration.
Brett Howard has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.