Hurricane Ian, which devastated Southwest Florida and flooded parts of Central Florida, has claimed at least 119 lives.
One month after the storm, FEMA is getting ready to provide several thousand travel trailers and mobile homes to residents of Southwest Florida counties.
In Central Florida, people displaced by the storm can look to a similar, but short-term state program
FEMA will deliver its travel trailers starting next month. It will aim first to place them for up to 18 months on the survivor's private property.
That FEMA program is not in place for Osceola County, where hundreds of seniors were displaced by flooding at the Good Samaritan Society's Kissimmee Village.
Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said a separate state program will provide trailers for up to six months.
"So that is the, uh, that is what is available today for those residents," he said on a conference call Friday.
The federal government has delivered more than $1.5 billion since Ian, including nearly $1 billion dollars in individual and public assistance from FEMA.
Good working relationship
Whatever the politics between Tallahassee and Washington, FEMA and Florida Emergency Management Department officials say they have a strong working relationship.
Federal Coordinating Officer Thomas McCool said FEMA headquarters has responded in a "very, very rapid manner" to needs in the state. That has included applying new technologies to speed things up.
"You know, working Irma, Michael, Dorian, the Surfside tragedy last year and now Ian, you do establish those relationships," he said.
