At the end of last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he will “request a Major Disaster Declaration for Broward County due to the catastrophic impacts of unprecedented flooding in Southeast Florida.”
The governor’s office announced on Friday that DeSantis would make the request.
“ If granted by the White House, a Major Disaster Declaration will provide a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure damaged by the floods,” the governor’s office announced. “On Monday, April 17th Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Executive Director Kevin Guthrie requested Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) teams deploy to Broward County for in-person PDAs. Joint State & Federal Teams have been in the field conducting damage assessments in impacted flood areas since Wednesday, April 19th and are estimated to complete physical assessments this weekend. In less than three days, teams have assessed over 1,300 homes and identified over 1,000 with major damages.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., called on DeSantis to request a “federal emergency declaration in the wake of historic flooding across Broward County.”
The congresswoman wrote to FEMA on Thursday urging a site visit and, on Friday, called on DeSantis to request the emergency declaration.
“Recent flooding has wreaked havoc across Florida’s 20th Congressional District, flooding our streets and displacing hundreds of families,” said Cherfilus-McCormick. “My team continues to work closely with FEMA and FDEM officials on the ground. While we are slowly returning to a sense of normalcy, we need help, and we need it fast. I call on Governor Ron DeSantis to request a federal emergency declaration from President Biden so that Broward County can get the resources it desperately needs. Our communities cannot wait any longer.”
