President Barack Obama has announced a disaster declaration for counties affected by Hurricane Hermine.
Last week, Governor Rick Scott asked President Obama to make a major disaster declaration for Florida.
“Hopefully, we’ll get that approved quickly, so we can make sure we’re helping each of these counties,” Scott said, at the time. “I had the opportunity, as you know, to visit some of these areas that had storm surge and it really hurt a lot of these families.”
On Wednesday, the President announced in addition to the disaster declaration, federal aid is available for those areas affected by Hermine during August 31 to September 11, 2016.
That includes governmental entities and nonprofit organizations in 14 counties—eligible for federal funds for emergency work, repairs, or replacements.
Those counties are Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Pasco, Pinellas, Suwannee, Taylor, and Wakulla.
It also includes federal assistance for affected residents and business owners in seven counties for things like, home repairs and property loans.
That applies to Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Hillsborough, Leon, Levy, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, officials say they're continuing to assess the damage in other areas and additional counties may be added to the list for assistance.
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