Why Hurricane Isaias victims can't apply for FEMA aid yet

People with damage from Hurricane Isaias in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia can't apply to FEMA for help with home repairs or rent yet. The federal declarations approved for the storm so far cover government response costs, not households.

Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Milton, two years earlier, CNN reported.

At least four people died, NPR confirmed. In Escambia County, Florida, one person was killed when a tree fell on a home, and another died of carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator in a room, according to Sheriff Chip W. Simmons. Four others were hospitalized in that incident. In Alabama, a tree fell on a house in Jefferson County, which includes Birmingham, and a fourth person died in Barbour County. More than 390,000 people in Florida and Alabama were still without power Sunday morning.

FEMA's own declaration data, checked Monday, October 12, shows three emergency declarations dated October 9. Florida's covers 27 counties, including Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Leon. Alabama's covers Baldwin, Escambia, and Mobile counties and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Georgia's is the widest, at 76 counties, including metro Atlanta's Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton. In all three, Public Assistance is turned on and the Individuals and Households Program is turned off.

That difference is the whole story. Public Assistance pays state and local governments back for things like debris removal and emergency protective measures. The Individuals and Households Program is what pays people directly for temporary housing, home repairs, and other storm losses.

An emergency declaration rarely includes that household help. "Authorization of IHP under an emergency is rare," FEMA says on its page explaining how disasters get declared. Florida's declaration is limited to emergency protective measures provided as direct federal assistance at 75% federal funding, according to the FEMA announcement reported by WEAR.

Household aid usually comes with a major disaster declaration, which FEMA says "provides a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure." A governor has to request one within 30 days of the storm, and the decision belongs to the president alone.

Florida intends to ask. Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that the state plans to submit a major disaster request, WPTV reported. "There's a certain damage threshold that has to be reached," he said. "I think clearly, just given the amount of trees that fell down on different things, there's going to be more than enough." Santa Rosa County had about 90% of its customers without power at one point, and Holmes, Washington, and Walton counties were all above 80%, he said.

Until household aid is approved, the main thing to do is document everything. Take photos of the damage before you clean up, keep receipts for repairs and supplies, and file with your insurance company. Escambia County has asked residents to report storm damage with photos as recovery continues.

If FEMA does approve the Individuals and Households Program for your county, applications go through DisasterAssistance.gov or the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.

And if you're in a coastal county, our guide to finding your hurricane evacuation zone is worth a look before the next one.

Still without power, or seeing a road closure or an open shelter where you are? Drop a pin on the PinScene map so your neighbors can see it too.

Sources

• FEMA: How a disaster gets declared
• OpenFEMA: Disaster declaration summaries for Hurricane Isaias
• NPR: At least 4 deaths attributed to Isaias
• CNN: At least 4 dead as Isaias pushes farther inland
• WEAR: Trump approves emergency declaration for Florida due to Hurricane Isaias
• WPTV: Hurricane Isaias response, power restored for 200K customers