Federal and state assistance will be soon become available to individuals and families in Columbia County due to the impact of Tropical Storm Debby. The assistance will be in the form of federal disaster funds and emergency resources to help them on their paths to recovery.
According to Florida Governor Rick Scott, the funding will provide a range of help to Columbia County residents from housing needs to providing funds to small businesses so they can rebuild and open their doors.
The declaration makes federal and state assistance available to individuals and families. This declaration will provide Individual Assistance (IA) funds to residents of Columbia County. In addition, four other Florida counties are included in this initial declaration, those counties are Baker, Bradford, Wakulla (near Tallahassee) and Pasco Counties. More counties may be added to the declaration as Preliminary Assessments are completed. The Columbia County assessment was done this past weekend.
Assistance to be coordinated with FEMA can include grants to pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other eligible disaster-related expenses. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will also be available to cover eligible residential and business issues not covered by insurance.
FEMA will be setting up a disaster recovery center in Lake City in the next few days. The location and hours for the center will be announced and publicized as soon as available. Immediately, residents and small businesses can register to determine eligibility to quality for the programs offered. Call FEMA at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). If the lines are busy and you don’t get an immediate answer you are encouraged to wait a few minutes and call back. You can also register on line at www.fema.gov. The web site also has a mobile application (ap) available.
Columbia County Emergency Management
Storm Recovery Update #9
Tuesday, June 3, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Harvey Campbell PIO
Phone 386-623-7368
