FEMA has paid millions to Florida residents for Hurricane Ian

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has paid more than $714 million in individual assistance to victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida, according to figures released Nov. 3. The money was given to households in 26 counties designated by federal authorities as disaster areas following the historic storm.

The FEMA funds go to disaster victims who applied and qualified for financial assistance to help pay for replacing or making repairs to their home, or rental payments. The money also covers replacement of essential household items and other disaster-related expenses, like car repairs, childcare or temporary lodging.

Payments to victims in Lee County, where Ian made landfall with 15 feet of storm surge, dwarfed other counties in Florida. Victims there so far have received more than $290 million, or about 40% of the total distributed. The next highest areas were a mix of counties closer to Ian's landfall point and those that saw serious flooding as Ian passed across Florida. Volusia County was second in assistance ($64 million), followed by Charlotte ($59 million), Orange (almost $51 million) and Sarasota ($48 million).

Fort Myers Beach, along with Lee County's other barrier islands, took the brunt of Ian's assault on Florida's coastline. The storm, a Category 4 when it made landfall Sept. 28 at 3:05 p.m. near Cayo Costa, sent 150 mph winds and a towering storm surge tearing through the town's center.

Ian pummeled the state with crushing storm surge, obliterating wind speeds and torrential rainfall, leaving a swath of devastation from the southwestern coast across the I-4 corridor. The hurricane, the fifth-most powerful to ever hit the U.S., left countless homes and businesses wrecked or underwater and nearly 2.7 million people without power.

More than $1.88 billion in federal grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments has been provided to the state of Florida and households to help survivors jumpstart their recovery after Hurricane Ian.

In addition to the $714 million in individual assistance to households, FEMA said this week it sent the Florida $322 million for emergency response; $533 million in disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration; and paid $313 million in claims under the National Flood Insurance Program.

Individual assistance from FEMA after Hurricane Ian

County

Assistance Amount

Brevard

$4,212,292

Charlotte

$58,850,708

Collier

$37,398,203

DeSoto

$13,636,612

Flagler

$1,270,043

Glades

$412,071

Hardee

$5,627,429

Hendry

$1,264,818

Highlands

$5,836,702

Hillsborough

$33,071,346

Lake

$2,792,130

Lee

$290,521,233

Manatee

$13,023,704

Monroe

$1,388,976

Okeechobee

$997,896

Orange

$50,072,090

Osceola

$19,001,168

Palm Beach

$3,875,028

Pasco

$1,784,512

Pinellas

$11,309,279

Polk

$27,015,094

Putnam

$1,341,023

Sarasota

$48,237,586

Seminole

$16,100,769

St. Johns

$1,275,446

Volusia

$64,183,855

Total

$714,500,725