HURRICANE UPDATE
Hurricane Reimbursements. Since January 8th, the Florida Department of Emergency Management has awarded more than $766 million in recovery funds for Hurricanes Michael, Irma, Matthew and Hermine. Two years after Hurricane Irma crashed into the Florida Keys, total losses of $2.63 billion triggered an increase in the federal cost share from 75 percent to 90 percent. This is estimated to save the state and local governments more than $160 million.
Hurricane Michael. Insured losses were estimated to exceed $6.9 billion from last October’s Hurricane Michael. As of July 26th, the state reported that 148,347 claims had been filed; and today, almost one year after the storm, 18,000 claims are still outstanding. Almost $13 million has been awarded to farmers in North Florida from the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan, which helps bridge the gap when their crops were damaged and when they have their losses covered by insurance claims or federal funds.
Hurricane Dorian. While Florida was spared a direct hit from another Category 5 storm on August 24th, the Bahamas were devastated by Hurricane Dorian. Nearly $10 million in property insurance claims have been filed in Florida thus far. The Attorney General’s Office said it is looking at more than 2,900 reports of price gouging for supplies such as gasoline and water bottles.