Hurricane Michael Resources

On October 10, 2018, President Trump issued a major disaster declaration for the State of Florida, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts to areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The storm has displaced many families and communities.

All individuals who were impacted by Hurricane Michael should apply for FEMA assistance. Please call 1-800-621-3362 or visit http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov to apply. Individual assistance does not have an income limitation.

Click here for my full Hurricane Michael Resource Guide. 

FEMA individual assistance allows homeowners to qualify for grants to help cover uninsured costs of restoring flood-damaged homes. Individuals in the following counties may be eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance: Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington.

FEMA public assistance qualifies a county for emergency work, repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities, debris removal, and emergency protective measures. Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla counties in the State of Florida have been designated for public assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the primary federal agency tasked with helping individuals, businesses, and public entities recover after a disaster. All individuals impacted by the flood should register through FEMA at www.disasterassistance.gov.

Individuals in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Leon, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington Counties may be eligible for individual assistance:

• Apply by phone to FEMA: 1-800-621-3362 (TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the speech-or hearing-impaired). Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS) can call 1-800-621-3362. 
• You can also apply online anytime at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
• By smartphone or tablet, use m.fema.gov.

Please have the following information available when you call:

• A phone number and a reliable alternate in case FEMA needs to call you back; 
• Address of the damaged property; 
• Social Security number; 
• Bank account information (or direct deposit information);
• Insurance information (if you have insurance); 
• Brief description of damages; 
• Current mailing address; and 
• Pen and paper to write down your registration number.

Government disaster assistance only covers basic needs and usually will not compensate you for your entire loss. If you have insurance, the government may help pay for basic needs not covered under your insurance policy.

Disaster-related assistance may include:

• Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable;
• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items;
• Unemployment payments for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and do not qualify for state benefits (self-employed);
• Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance;
• Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; or
• Advisory assistance for legal veterans’ benefits and social security matters.

Click here for FAQs on FEMA Assistance.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management coordinates the state emergency management program, which is intended to ensure the state and its local governments respond to and recover from disasters. For updates, please visit http://www.floridadisaster.org/

Bay County
Emergency Management: (850) 248-6040 or http://baycountyfl.gov/166/Emergency-Management-Division
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 747-4700 http://www.bayso.org

Calhoun County
Emergency Management: (850) 674-8075 or http://calhounflorida.org/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 674-5049 or http://www.calhounsheriff.com/

Columbia County
Emergency Management: (386) 758-1383 or http://em.columbiacountyfla.com/home
Sheriff’s Office: (386) 752-9212 or http://www.columbiasheriff.org/

Dixie County
Emergency Management: (352) 498-1240 or http://dixieemergency.com/Emergency_Management.cfm
Sheriff’s Office: (352) 498-1220 or http://www.dixiecountysheriff.com/

Franklin County
Emergency Management: (850) 653-8977 or http://www.franklinemergencymanagement.com/contact/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 670-8500 or http://www.franklinsheriff.com/

Gilchrist County
Emergency Management: (386) 935-5400 or http://gilchrist.fl.us/gilchrist-county-fire-rescue-emergency-information/
Sheriff’s Office: (352) 463-3410 or http://www.gcso.us/

Gulf County
Emergency Management: (850) 229-9110 or http://www.gulfcounty-fl.gov/county_government/emergency_management
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 227-1115 or http://www.gulfsheriff.com/

Holmes County
Emergency Management: (850) 547-1112 or http://holmescountyem.org/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 547-3681 or http://holmescosheriff.org/index.html

Jackson County
Emergency Management: (850) 482-9678 or http://rightservicefl.org/node/18784
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 482-9664 or http://www.jcsheriff.com

Jefferson County
Emergency Management: (850) 342-0211 or http://www.jeffersoncountyfl.gov/p/county-departments/emergency-management
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 997-2523 or http://www.jcso-fl.org/

Lafayette County
Emergency Management: (386) 294-1950 or http://lafayetteso.org/emergency-management.html
Sheriff’s Office: (386) 294-1222 or http://lafayetteso.org/index.html

Leon County
Emergency Management: (850) 606-3700 or http://cms.leoncountyfl.gov/Home/County-Administrator/Administration/Assistant-to-the-County-Administrator-for-Community-Relations-and-Resilience/Emergency-Management
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 606-3300 or http://www.leoncountyso.com/

Levy County
Emergency Management: (352) 486-5213 or http://www.levydisaster.com/
Sheriff’s Office: (352) 486-5111 or http://www.levyso.com/

Liberty County
Emergency Management: (850) 643-2339 or http://libertycountyflem.com/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 643-2235 or http://libertycountysheriff.org/

Marion County
Emergency Management: (352) 369-8100 or http://www.marionso.com/emergency-management/
Sheriff’s Office: (352) 732-8181 or http://www.marionso.com/

Suwannee County
Emergency Management: (386) 364-3405 or http://suwcounty.org/county/index.php/14-sample-data-articles/131-emergency-management
Sheriff’s Office: (386) 362-2222 or http://suwanneecountysheriff.org

Taylor County
Emergency Management: (850) 838-3575 or http://www.taylorcountyem.com/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 584-4225 or http://taylorsheriff.org/

Wakulla County
Emergency Management: (850) 745-7200 or http://www.wcso.org/emergency-management/
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 926-0896 or http://www.wcso.org/

Washington County
Emergency Management: (850) 638-6203 or http://www.washingtonfl.com/?DivisionID=21213&DepartmentID=25361
Sheriff’s Office: (850) 638-6111 or http://www.wcso.us/

Department of Transportation:
For travel information, visit http://www.fdot.gov/. You can also follow FDOT at http://www.facebook.com/FLDOT/ (Facebook) or @MyFDOT (Twitter)

Florida Fish and Wildlife: 
For more information, go to http://myfwc.com/, @MyFWC (Twitter) or http://www.facebook.com/MyFWC  (Facebook). 

Department of Agriculture: 
For the latest updates from the Florida Department of Agriculture please visit: http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Consumer-Resources/ 

Florida Department of Health and Human Services:
For information from Florida HHS visit http://www.floridahealth.gov/

Florida Department of Financial Services:
The Florida Department of Financial Services has insurance specialists available to answer questions. Claims need to be filed with your insurance company, but the division can assist consumers with questions about insurance and help guide them through the process. Impacted residents can call the Division of Insurance at 1-877-693-5236. For more information, visit http://myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/needourhelp.htm 

Florida Department of Education:
For more information about FLDOE resources, visit: http://www.fldoe.org/ 

Florida Attorney General’s Office (AG):
The Florida AG’s office is taking complaints regarding price gouging, fraudulent charities and home repair scams. Consumers can call 1-866-966-7226 or visit http://myfloridalegal.com/ to file a complaint.

Florida Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC): 
The Florida Small Business Development Center Network is dedicated to helping small and mid-size businesses throughout Florida achieve their goals by providing free and confidential consulting and low-cost training programs. Please visit http://floridasbdc.org/ for additional information.

If you have been denied for FEMA Disaster Assistance, you may have the opportunity to appeal the decision. Please contact one of our offices so that a member of our casework team can reach out to you in an effort to help resolve this matter.

Our three offices in Panama City, Tallahassee, and Washington, D.C. stand ready to assist you. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns. You can reach our Panama City office by calling (850) 785-0812; our Tallahassee office at (850) 891-8610; and our Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-5235.

Click here to learn more about your Appeal Rights.