Hurricane Irma was a historic storm, impacting all 67 counties in Florida. Such a powerful storm required historic measures, with over 60,000 workers from all over the United States and Canada assisting in rebuilding efforts.
Irma left almost 8 million people without power. With such massive numbers, energy restoration was prioritized to emergency responders and essential services critical to public health, including hospitals, fire and police departments and water systems. Roughly 94 percent of all outages have been restored by more than 30,000 restoration personnel across Florida – the largest power restoration undertaking in history for a single state. As of today, Duke Energy reports 93 percent of power restoration across the state of Florida. Overall, power has been restored to more than 6.3 million accounts, which is how utility companies measure each Florida home or business.
Floridians have once again shown the resilience of our state. I applaud the work that local, state and federal authorities have done in ensuring that our residents remain safe and informed. Florida continues to serve as a role model to the nation for emergency preparedness and readiness.
There is still much work to be done as communities and constituents recover from this storm. Below is information on assistance programs for individuals as well as small businesses. More information is available on my website at www.webster.house.gov/hurricane-irma-information.
Next week, my district office will be hosting representatives from FEMA to meet with constituents and answer their questions regarding disaster assistance in person. Details regarding the dates and locations will be available soon. Additionally, we have contacted FEMA about reimbursements to local communities for clean-up costs so that paperwork submitted is processed in a timely fashion.
If you have any questions or need assistance with completing paperwork or getting a response from federal agencies, please do not hesitate to contact my district office at 352-241-9220.
FEMA Individual Assistance
FEMA made every county in our congressional district – Lake, Marion, Sumter, Hernando and Citrus – eligible for Individual Assistance. Residents of these counties can begin applying for assistance through the steps below:
• Residents who sustained losses can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov. Residents are also encouraged to download the FEMA App to begin the registration process. Click on Disaster Resources.
• If you do not have access to the internet, you may register by calling 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-621-FEMA.
• The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.
Congressman Daniel Webster represents The Villages in The U.S. House of Representatives.
