ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Today, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs released the following statements:
FEMA Declaration
“I am deeply gratified to announce that yesterday, Weds Sept 13, 2017, we were notified that Orange County has qualified for FEMA assistance through the Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Florida (DR-4337-FL).
Orange County’s Office of Emergency Management initiated the process for FEMA assistance on Sunday, Sept 10, 2017 at 7:00 PM, with the submission of our preliminary application for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program.
We were able to complete that application on Tuesday Sept 12, 2017, when we received the initial damage assessment from the Property Appraiser’s office. Our Emergency Management team worked immediately to request that the Governor amend Florida’s declaration to include Orange County. As a result of swift action locally and the immediate response by the Governor’s office, Orange County was the first Central Florida county to be added to the Declaration.
This is an incredibly important milestone for our community, and will allow individuals and households to seek Individual Assistance (IA) from FEMA in order to recover from Hurricane Irma.
Other counties included in the Declaration: Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Volusia.”
Extension of Emergency Executive Order
“On Friday Sept 7, 2017, I issued Emergency Executive Order #17-09 declaring a local state of emergency. This order allowed us to prepare for threats associated with Hurricane Irma. Today, I extended that order for 10 additional days. This extension will allow us to continue to access emergency resources necessary for the health, safety and welfare of our residents, guests and businesses and to recover from Hurricane Irma.”