FEMA Approves Nearly $6 Million for Lee County Beach Work

LAKE MARY, Fla. – On April 6, FEMA Public Assistance approved a grant of $5,978,207 to reimburse Lee County for emergency work after Hurricane Ian at Fort Myers Beach.

The Sept. 28, 2022, storm caused extensive damage to the beach. The county constructed emergency berms with 86,969 cubic yards of sand and 29,100 native plants to stabilize the beach and protect it from a 5-year storm. The work covers 28,000 linear feet of beach.

With this grant, FEMA Public Assistance funding for Lee County to date totals $35.9 million (federal share). The total for all applicants within Lee County is $144.3 million.

FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal and local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations, including houses of worship, so communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.

Applicants work with FEMA to develop projects and scopes of work. FEMA obligates funding for projects to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) after final approval. Once a project is obligated, FDEM works closely with applicants to complete the grant process and begin making payments. FDEM has procedures in place designed to ensure grant funding is provided to local communities as quickly as possible.

For the latest information on Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Ian, visit floridadisaster.org/info and fema.gov/disaster/4673. Follow FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.