Hurricane Irma: FEMA criticized for excluding South Florida from individual assistance

Sept. 12--A bipartisan group of South Florida members of Congress said Monday the region's recovery from Hurricane Irma could be hindered by a Federal Emergency Management Agency decision to exclude Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties from individual assistance.

Individual assistance is provided to people who need housing when they leave shelters and can't go home. It's administered by states, but only people in counties that are designated by FEMA are eligible for the program.

President Donald Trump's "major disaster declaration" on Sept. 10 included all 67 Florida counties on the list of eligible counties for public assistance. For federal assistance to individuals and households, only nine counties were included on the list of eligible counties.

The determination is up to FEMA, which decides based on hurricane forecasts, according to a statement from the concerned members of Congress. Even though counties on the sate's East Coast were forecast to experience severe wind and water damage from the hurricane, they were not authorized for individual assistance.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat who represents most of Broward and southeast Palm Beach County, was working on the issue Sunday evening -- while tropical storm force winds were still battering South Florida.

On Monday, he and U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Frederica Wilson and Lois Frankel, all Democrats, and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican, expressed their concern publicly. Among them, the six represent all of Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

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Even though the counties weren't subjected to the eye of the hurricane, the congressional delegation said their constituents experienced hurricane-force gusts of wind, tornadoes, severe storm surge and flooding, and damage to homes, loss of power, and impassable roads.

"When a hurricane stretches over 400 miles across the state, there is going to be devastation whether the eye crosses the county or not. Residents of Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties, as well as residents of other counties not included on the list, have experienced severe wind and water damage to their homes and property," the members of Congress said. "FEMA must add these counties to the individual assistance list to ensure that families can start addressing their needs today."

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aman@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4550

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