FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Approves Nearly $2 Billion for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts

The Biden-Harris Administration continues its response and recovery efforts across the Southeast and Appalachia following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Nearly 8,000 Federal personnel remain on the ground working side-by-side with State and local officials to help survivors with recovery and rebuilding.

As part of our commitment to remaining with impacted communities as long as it takes, under President Biden's direction, the Administration has already approved more than $1.8 billion in assistance for hurricane recovery efforts.

This includes assistance for individuals – including funding for temporary housing, essential needs like food, water, baby formula, and other emergency supplies – as well as public assistance to states for costs related to debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures, and restoring public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, and courthouses.

In North Carolina, where the Administration continues to surge resources, more than $100 million in assistance has been approved for more than 77,000 survivors.

This funding supplements additional investments announced by President Biden during his visit to Florida this weekend, where he awarded more than $600 million from the Department of Energy to six projects across the Southeast to enhance the reliability and resilience of the electric grid in the face of more extreme weather events.

Specific funding for impacted communities includes:

For those affected by Hurricane Helene, FEMA has approved over $911 million, which includes $581 million in assistance for individuals and affected communities and over $330 million for public assistance costs like debris removal and other activities to save lives, protect public health and safety, prevent damage to public and private property, and restore public infrastructure.

For individual assistance related to Hurricane Helene, specific funding approved includes:

• Florida: More than $213 million for 71,000 survivors
• South Carolina: More than $132 million for 146,000 survivors
• Georgia: More than $119 million for 118,000 survivors
• North Carolina: More than $100 million for 77,000 survivors
• Tennessee: More than $11.8 million for 2,400 survivors
• Virginia: More than $4.7 million for 1,500 survivors

For those affected by Hurricane Milton, FEMA has already approved over $620 million, which thus far includes $16 million in assistance for individuals and affected communities and over $604 million in public assistance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has offered over $48 million in tentatively approved disaster loan funding to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA also has hundreds of staff working on the ground supporting communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in 48 disaster recovery centers, as well as in loan processing and customer service centers.

Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout impacted states:

Additional Disaster Recovery Centers are opening throughout the affected communities to provide survivors with in-person assistance. These centers serve as "one stop shops," offering help with applications for FEMA assistance, information on available resources from other Federal agencies, and guidance on navigating the recovery process. Disaster Survivor Assistance Teams remain on the ground in neighborhoods in all affected states helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary resources.

Survivors can visit Disaster Recovery Centers in the following cities/towns:

Florida:

• Twelve Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Bradenton, Branford, Glen Saint Mary, Homosassa, Lake City, Largo, Live Oak, Madison, Perry, Sarasota, and Tampa, and more will open in the coming days and weeks. DRCs will support survivors impacted by both Helene and Milton. In addition, 120 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

North Carolina:

• Six Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Asheville, Bakersville, Boone, Lenoir, Marion and Sylva. FEMA expects to open up to ten more Disaster Recovery Centers in impacted communities in the coming days. More than 1,200 FEMA staff are on the ground, and 379 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

Georgia:

• Four Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Valdosta, Douglas, Sandersville and Augusta. 152 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

South Carolina:

• Six Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Anderson, Greenville, Barnwell, Batesburg, Easley, and North Augusta. 92 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

Tennessee:

• One Disaster Recovery Center is open in Erwin. 48 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

Virginia:

• Four Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Damascus, Dublin, Independence, and Tazewell. 57 Disaster Survivor Assistance Team members are going into neighborhoods to connect with survivors.

Additional assistance to agriculture producers includes:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that people in parts of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee recovering from Tropical Storm Helene may be eligible for food assistance through the USDA's Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). Approximately 982,930 households in Georgia, 152,572 households in North Carolina and 54,692 households in Tennessee are estimated to be eligible for this relief to help with grocery expenses. Through this program, which USDA makes available through states in the aftermath of disasters, people who may not be eligible for SNAP in normal circumstances can participate if they meet specific criteria, including disaster income limits and qualifying disaster-related expenses.

USDA also announced additional assistance to help agriculture producers impacted by Hurricane Helene in the recovery process. Producers will receive over $233 million in indemnities for losses from Hurricane Helene. These payments will directly help farmers and rural communities recover.

Currently, Hurricane Helene estimated indemnities by state include:

• Georgia: $207.7 million
• Florida: $12.8 million
• Alabama: $5.0 million
• North Carolina: $4.1 million
• South Carolina: $4.1 million
• Virginia: $61,000