President Joe Biden has approved Florida’s emergency disaster declaration as Hurricane Milton approaches the Sunshine State, expected to make landfall Wednesday or Thursday.
In the wake of the lackluster response from the Biden-Harris administration to Hurricane Helene, Biden “declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton beginning on October 5, 2024, and continuing.”
The release reads:
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.
Public Assistance (Category B) emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding for the counties of Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Desoto, Dixie, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia.
Public Assistance (Category B) emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding for the counties of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Nassau, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union.
The counties in Florida under a state of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Milton are:
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union and Volusia.
Current tracks from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) show Hurricane Milton, now a Category 5 storm, barreling down on the west cost of the state, slated to exit on the east coast.
“10:55 CDT Monday Update: Milton rapidly intensifies into a category 5 hurricane. Data from a @53rdWRS hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to 160 mph (250 km/h) with higher gusts,” the NHC reported:
Biden’s approval follows Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stating last week that FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the remainder of hurricane season — despite millions being allotted to DHS specifically for issues related to illegal aliens.
