1 of 3 | A person takes a photo of a property from a road covered in sand after Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Manasota Key, Fla., on Friday. President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a federal disaster aid package for 34 hard-hit counties in Florida. Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA-EFE
Oct. 12 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Saturday approved a major disaster declaration for Florida making federal emergency funding available in 34 counties as 1.5 million residents remained without power.
The declaration makes supplemental funding available for residents of the counties and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians who were affected by Hurricane Milton, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced.
State, tribal and affected eligible local units of government also are eligible for additional FEMA funding, which also supports some nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work done in the affected counties and tribal lands.
The emergency declaration also provides full funding for up to 90 days to remove debris and undertake emergency protective measures.
Federal funding support also is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard-mitigation throughout Florida.
Federal officials named John Brogan the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery efforts in the affected areas.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, during a press conference Saturday morning in Plant City, Fla., said the state has opened several emergency fueling depots so residents can get fuel for vehicles, generators and other needs as millions of Florida residents are without power.
“Fuel is an issue when you have power out at gas stations [and] you can’t pump fuel,” DeSantis said. “When you have ports that are interrupted, they don’t get shipments as much.”
DeSantis said the state has fuel available to get people through until the gas stations and other services are fully fueled and operational.
The Plant City location is one of the state’s fueling locations that gives people more options for obtaining fuel.
Bradenton and St. Petersburg also have state fuel depots open as of Saturday morning, and DeSantis said more will be made available.
Other fuel depots likely will open in or near Tampa, Pinellas County and in Sarasota County and elsewhere as needed, DeSantis said.
The state fuel depots distribute up to 10 gallons of fuel free of charge to residents, and the state has about a million gallons of fuel to distribute.
Several rivers in Florida remain flooded, state and local officials said, while about 1.5 million state residents remain without power, according to Poweroutage.us.
About 30% of the state’s gas stations have no fuel, especially those in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is closed until at least 9 a.m. Wednesday, but the Coast Guard has reopened some ports in Florida and several in Georgia and South Carolina.
Many theme parks have reopened, including Walt DisneyWorld, SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove.
Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can apply for federal disaster assistance by visiting www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.