Ten Florida counties affected by Hurricane Michael are now eligible for federal assistance to help pay for the cost of repairing damaged public infrastructure and responding to the storm.
FEMA announced that state and local government agencies, and certain private nonprofits including houses of worship, in these counties will now be eligible for assistance under FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program, which reimburses applicants for the cost of repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed infrastructure and the cost of responding to a disaster.
The following counties are now eligible for all categories of the Public Assistance program:
Okaloosa and Walton
The following counties were previously eligible for Public Assistance Categories A & B (Emergency Protective Measures and Debris Removal) and are now eligible for all categories of the program:
Franklin, Holmes, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of private non-profit organizations including some houses of worship, so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
These funds reimburse eligible applicants for the cost of debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement or restoration of disaster-damaged facilities like buildings, roads and utilities.
The federal share for Public Assistance projects is not less than 75 percent of the eligible cost. The state determines how the non-federal share of the cost of a project (up to 25 percent) is split with the sub-recipients like local and county governments.
The Public Assistance program is administered by Florida Division of Emergency Management.
For additional information on the Public Assistance process, please visit www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit.