TAMPA, Fla. — Inside a FEMA disaster recovery center in Hillsborough County Monday afternoon nearly everyone inside was staff.
“It’s been a little slow today because everyone is evacuating from Tampa,” said site manager Angelito Quijano.
By day's end, all the FEMA employees in this center and the other temporary FEMA centers set up in Tampa Bay will be gone, most of them rerouted to Orlando as Hurricane Milton barrels down on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The centers had just opened about a week ago in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
“You got to remember Hurricane Debby started it then Helene and now Hurricane Milton, so you have three storms, it’s been never ending,” said Jack Pagano, a FEMA reservist serving as a spokesperson for the agency.
According to FEMA, in the past week, more than 120,000 people on Florida’s Gulf Coast have applied for FEMA aid after sustaining property damage from Hurricane Helene. Approximately $50 million has already been handed out to people who were granted help.
Those seeking help from FEMA can still apply here online at https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or by phone at 1-800-621-3362.
With Hurricane Milton on the move toward the Sunshine State as a major hurricane, President Joe Biden approved more FEMA help for the state on Monday, approving Governor Ron DeSantis’ request for an emergency declaration for 38 Florida counties in Milton’s path.
Biden’s declaration comes as the federal emergency management agency works to squash rumors it’s out of cash.
“That’s all about politics,” said Pagano. “Rest assured that FEMA is here to help and is not running out of money,” he said though he did add FEMA may have to ask Congress to allocate more funding for the agency.
In the meantime, FEMA vows to stay on the ground in Florida as the state recovers from one disastrous hurricane, only to find itself gearing up to face yet another.
