Federal Emergency Management Agency workers dressed in yellow vests are going door-to-door in neighborhoods ravaged by flooding to offer help to residents and business owners in Sarasota and Manatee counties, officials said Monday.
On Sunday, the Biden administration declared Sarasota and Manatee counties a disaster zone after Debby passed by as a tropical storm Aug. 5.
Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north, in the Big Bend region. People in several counties there — including Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee and Taylor — can also now apply for federal aid.
"FEMA is now here, in place," Sandra Tapfumaneyi, emergency management director for Sarasota County.
The federal emergency disaster declaration is "great news for our community," she added.
Grants for temporary housing and home repairs are available. So are low-cost loans to cover property losses that were not insured.
Debby drenched Sarasota and Manatee counties with more than a foot of rain in some places, and many neighborhoods flooded.
Those who sustained losses are encouraged to go to www.DisasterAssistance.gov, call 1-800-621-3362 or use the FEMA App.
