President Donald Trump on Friday approved a major disaster declaration for Georgia after Hurricane Irma battered the state, clearing the way for more federal funding to hard-hit areas.
The declaration, issued days after Gov. Nathan Deal requested it, means the federal government will pick up 75 percent of the cost of responding to the hurricane as well as the recovery and cleanup.
The declaration also makes federal funding available to residents of Camden, Chatham and Glynn counties for individual assistance grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.
Deal chief of staff Chris Riley said on Twitter that federal disaster officials are monitoring whether to extend individual assistance grants to Bryan, Long and McIntosh counties as well.
Irma slammed into Georgia early this week, forcing Deal to declare a state of emergency in all 159 counties and order a mandatory evacuation along parts of the coast. The storm killed two people, left more than 1 million without power and left parts of the state looking like disaster zones.
There is no estimate yet on what the final price tag will be, but federal disaster crews were roaming the coast assessing the damage on Friday.
State officials pushed hard for the declaration. It allows the federal government to reimburse state and local governments for debris removal across all 159 counties, and also pays for the 600 Georgia National Guard troops and 50 Georgia State Patrol troopers sent to Florida to help the recovery.
Even with the declaration, though, the state’s tally is expected to be high. The state usually splits the remaining 25 percent of cleanup fees with local governments, but Deal said Thursday the state would shoulder the entire tab for coastal communities still reeling from Hurricane Matthew last year.
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