FEMA Individual Assistance Approved for Walton County After Hurricane Isaias
Freeport households still cleaning up from Hurricane Isaias can now apply for federal disaster aid: FEMA has approved Individual Assistance for Walton County, local emergency officials announced Thursday.
The approval, announced on Walton County Emergency Management’s official channels Thursday, completes the household side of the federal disaster declaration President Donald Trump approved earlier this week. When the Major Disaster Declaration came through, it opened public-assistance grants for debris removal, emergency protective measures and repairs to public facilities — but the aid that reaches individual households stayed under review, leaving Freeport families waiting on the piece that matters most to them.
Walton County is one of eight Panhandle counties in the Individual Assistance designation — Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington — the same eight Florida named when it asked FEMA for household aid, in a stretch where damage assessments had preliminarily counted nearly 1,000 damaged homes. The program provides financial assistance to eligible individuals and households to help with essential needs and disaster-related expenses.
Eligible residents can apply three ways: by calling 1-800-621-3362, by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov, or through the FEMA app, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management announcement graphic shared by the county. Florida had told residents that once federal approval came, eligible households in designated counties would be able to apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or by phone.
The designation lands as recovery work continues across Freeport and the rest of the county. The storm, which swept the Panhandle from Oct. 6 through 12, left Freeport with power outages and light damage, and the countywide debris pickup is still working its way through city neighborhoods while residents keep hazardous waste out of the curbside piles. The household-aid approval had been the milestone local officials were watching since the public-assistance side of the declaration was finalized.
Originally reported by Walton County Emergency Management, with background from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Image: Walton County Emergency Management — Florida Division of Emergency Management graphic.
