FEMA denials, mixed messages leave some Florida residents frustrated

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES – Since Sept. 29, when parts of the roof of his home ended up in the yard next door, Joe Havner has experienced flooding every time it rains.

Ian, a tropical storm that had been downgraded after climbing the Florida peninsula after making landfall near Cape Coral as a Category 4 hurricane, brought sea surge, delivered power-packed winds and dumped enough rain to flood hundreds of homes. The damage has topped $350 million in Volusia County, and $21 million in Daytona Beach Shores alone.

Havner, 47, inherited his small, 1956 ranch-style home about two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. He did not carry homeowner's insurance, making repairs an as-yet unaffordable proposition.

He turned to his last resort for help: the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has the awesome task of helping thousands of storm victims recover across the state. The problem: Havner and other Volusia County residents say their experience dealing with FEMA has been nearly as miserable as the storm itself.

Denials and mixed messages

About two weeks after the storm, Havner filed a claim. It was denied 12 days later. Havner appealed the denial. And the very next day, his appeal was denied.

"This was before FEMA had even considered sending an inspector to look at my property," Havner said.

He kept after FEMA. In November, an inspector visited, promising help with the roof and collapsed ceilings.

Havner submitted cost estimates and continued waiting. On Dec. 8, while Havner was at work delivering UPS packages, FEMA inspectors showed up at his home and left a note encouraging him to apply for assistance, "as if I had never even filed a claim to begin with."

In all, his claim totals about $25,000.

Earlier this month, FEMA announced its determination: $1,099 in repair assistance.

"I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I have tens of thousands of dollars of damage here," Havner said. "I'm not in great health, and I have attempted to jump through every hoop which FEMA has asked me to. I've spent 14 hours on hold waiting to speak with representatives and I've resubmitted every document and picture they've asked for in triplicate."

Havner said he has gotten mixed messages from different FEMA representatives, with one telling him he had to resubmit all of his contractor quotes for repairs because none had responded to the agency to verify the estimates. Another told him FEMA was waiting on only one contractor to respond.

He also learned that some of the pictures he has submitted, clear images of damage, are not available to FEMA representatives, who instead see muddy images that appear to have been photocopied or faxed.

So last week he had one of the contractors, a roofing business, back to his home to take measurements and photos to answer FEMA's four remaining questions.

Havner said he is "beyond frustrated," and is planning to purchase new tarps for the roof.

FEMA did not respond to a request for an interview.

The government's response to the back-to-back storms Ian and Nicole has involved some staggering numbers:

More than $5 billion has gone to Florida for Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.

$896 million of it has gone directly to impacted households in 26 counties, while the state has gotten another $504 million.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has provided $1.47 billion in disaster loans.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.2 billion in claims.

FEMA reported more than 5,000 Hurricane Nicole survivors have registered for assistance.

Ian has been described as the second-largest insured loss by hurricanes this century, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And Ian was followed up with Nicole, a gut punch for Volusia County.

"Ian was a massive event, yes, but that alone isn't enough to reduce the ability for FEMA or the state of Florida to deal with a second event such as Nicole," said David Merrick, a professor of emergency management at Florida State University.

FEMA determined that Volusia County qualifies for both public assistance, money that goes to local governments to reimburse them for their response, such as debris removal, and individual assistance for residents.

"(Individual assistance) is critical, but those programs will never replace all losses in the county," Merrick said.

Despite the billions in assistance, some residents' claims don't meet FEMA's standards to qualify, while others fall between the cracks. It's difficult − if not impossible − to know how widespread the complaints are, but Havner is not alone in his misery.

'Not working out for me at all'

Other area residents had a variety of reasons why they were dissatisfied with FEMA.

Disasters like the floods that came from Ian and Nicole exposed some of the hard-luck lives that FEMA cannot magically change.

"It's not working out for me at all," said Patricia Rendon, a 60-year-old heart transplant candidate who lives on her Supplemental Security Income, $914 per month.

Ian forced Rendon to move out of the room she rented on Adams Street near Orange Avenue in Daytona Beach. She had to be rescued out of 3 feet of water. She lost most of her personal possessions.

Rendon received enough FEMA money to cover one month in the Hard Rock Hotel, plus $700 for groceries and expenses.

"I stayed at the Hard Rock the first 30 days and it was paradise for a month," she said. But when that month was over, she had nowhere to go. Affordable homes remain scarce, and Rendon said she hasn't been able to pull together enough money to pay a first month's rent plus deposit.

Since then, she's moved 14 times, staying on chairs in other people's hotel rooms, getting assistance to pay for her own hotel room, and, of late, she's been staying in an Airbnb home in Daytona Beach on the Salvation Army's dime.

"Angels" such as the Salvation Army have been a great help, Rendon said, but she's not sure how long that approach will hold up. The uncertainty has only exacerbated her heart condition.

"It's the stress of figuring out where I'm going to be tomorrow," she said. "I don't think I would do good sleeping under a bridge."

Her beef with FEMA: She believes she should have gotten a portion of the settlement her former landlords received, but because she didn't sign a lease, there's not enough proof of her residence to satisfy FEMA's requirement, she said.

She tried to prove her residence using other ways, showing FEMA receipts from Amazon deliveries and a photo ID with the correct address.

"It wasn't good enough," she said.

Rendon offered an idea on how to help folks like her, struggling to find a permanent home.

"You have all these hotels rotting," she said. "Why can't the government buy them and make them affordable housing?"

Other disappointments: Limited roof repair, computer frustration

After Ian ripped off nearly one-third of her roof, flooding three rooms of her Daytona Beach home, Suzanne Altamare said she was disappointed by two federal agencies. First, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Blue Tarp project was limited to two Southwest Florida counties. Then she said she was let down by FEMA's offer of assistance.

"I had probably what would amount to $20,000 of damage," Altamare said. "The FEMA inspector looked at everything. They felt a good sum was $2,500. Oh, my God."

"I have no faith in FEMA anymore," she said.

Altamare said she can't afford to replace her roof.

She said she understands FEMA was "so overwhelmed in South Florida," where people "lost everything."

"I had hoped to at least get the roof repaired in the area where it blew off, and I have no hope of anything that FEMA might do in the future," Altamare said. "It's a large government agency and that pretty much says it all."

Brianna Mouse, a Holly Hill resident, said Ian flooded her garage, where a washer and dryer broke and food in the refrigerator and freezer stopped working. Also, batteries died in both her and her husband's cars.

She started to apply to FEMA for assistance.

"Honestly, I ended up not even applying. On the website, it said I wasn't a real person," Mouse said. "It wouldn't let me move forward on the application."

Some avenues of assistance

To help Floridians work through the details of their claims, FEMA has opened about two dozen Disaster Recovery Centers. Four have been opened in the Volusia-Flagler area: the Volusia County Health Department in Daytona Beach, the Flagler County Fairgrounds in Bunnell, the Center at Deltona and the First Baptist Church of Astor Lake in Astor. The Deltona site closed Monday.

FEMA is extending the deadline to Feb. 9 for owners of damaged apartment complexes to seek information on the the Multifamily Lease and Repair program.

Under the program, the government will lease buildings from owners of multifamily properties and make repairs to code, then make units available as temporary housing for displaced renters. The program covers 20 Florida counties, including Volusia and Flagler counties.

FEMA's performance

left to 'public perception'

There does not appear to be an objective gauge to measure FEMA's performance during the 2022 hurricane season or any other response.

"The typical measurement of FEMA's effectiveness is public perception – and that may not always be a fair assessment," Merrick said. "FEMA is only one layer of emergency management – local and state emergency managers and programs have a key role to play in the events as well. FEMA does have a large role in recovery – where we are now with Nicole – but direct financial assistance to individuals and families is always limited."

"Disaster disproportionately impacts people in lower socioeconomic status. This has always been true and will continue," Merrick said. "Unfortunately, post-disaster relief through FEMA and elsewhere is not designed to replace everything that is lost; it provides a thin safety net and not much else."

Merrick said both FEMA and the state provide some housing and limited cash assistance, such as lowering the thresholds for eligibility for SNAP (food stamps) and other existing programs.

"But there are not programs for replacing household goods or possessions, cars, or homes that were damaged or destroyed," he said. "All of this get complicated when jobs and businesses are destroyed or damaged, and they must let workers go that also suffered damage – everything is compounded at that point."