TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – People who endured Hurricanes Helen and Milton face many hurdles during flooding and cleanup.
Currently, federal regulations can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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The FEMA 50% rule catches homeowners affected by flooding or unexpected damage. The mission is a complex regulation that can cost a small amount of property to the homeowner.
Essentially, those who are suffering major damage to flood areas may not be allowed to do simple repairs. They may be forced to demolish the house and completely rebuild at a higher elevation.
“Elevate Florida” is a new state program that helps homeowners cover the costs of lifting their homes.
“First, homeowners will need to apply through the Florida Elevate Application Portal,” said Lisa Miller, Disaster Recovery Insurance Advisor. “As long as property owners can get up to 25% of the total cost of a project, including initial inspections, the program will take 75-100% of the flood mitigation costs, depending on several other factors, including a history of losses. I can cover it.”
Last year’s hurricane season took a devastating blow to homes in Tampa Bay.
Now, with the new hurricane season approaching, homeowners are making difficult and expensive decisions when landlords calibrate their homes.
“The good thing about that is that I can keep my own home and use my insurance money to fix it,” said Holly Young, a resident of St. Pete Beach. . “It’s promoted and I hope I’ll be safe from the storms of the future.”
Elevate Florida is the state’s first elevation mitigation program.
According to the Florida Department of Emergency Management, the goal of promoting Florida is to increase community resilience by mitigating private lands against natural disasters.
“It’s the federal dollar that we’ve already accessed and redirected to this particular resilience program,” Miller said. “You can apply for a SME management loan and see if it helps cover these additional costs.
Authorities say mitigation reconstruction will replace the height of the structure if the structure is not as healthy as it rises, as determined during the review of the application.
The target projects include:
Acquisition of structural elevation mitigation/reducing winds
Click here to learn more about the program or to apply for assistance.
