Hurricane Michael
On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, causing catastrophic damage to communities in the Florida Panhandle. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is committed to helping Florida's communities recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Michael. DEO is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds awarded to the state.
Rebuild Florida programs for communities impacted by Hurricane Michael are listed below.
State Action Plan
DEO led the state's efforts in creating the federally required State Action Plan that provides a high-level strategy for how the funding will be used to address eligible communities' long-term recovery needs. The State Action Plan was developed with input from state and community partners, as well as citizens, to determine the remaining long-term recovery needs.
The State Action Plan approved by HUD is posted below.
DEO held a 30-day public comment period during which comments were submitted on the State Action Plan. A summary of comments is included in the State Action Plan.
Eligible Counties
The 12 counties identified as Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) are eligible for Hurricane Michael CDBG-DR programs. In the aftermath of the storm, HUD identified nine MID counties. The state of Florida identified an additional three MID counties.
Webinar
To provide more information on the next steps for the state of Florida, community partners and local communities, DEO hosted a webinar on Friday, February 21, 2020. The recording of the webinar is embedded below, and there is an available webinar transcript.
Community Workshops
As part of the development of the State Action Plan, DEO hosted a series of public workshops in communities impacted by Hurricane Michael to seek input for the use of CDBG-DR funds. Times and locations are shown below, and there are available workshop presentation slides.
Hurricane Michael Timeline
Timeline of DEO disaster recovery actions is below. The timeline will be updated with the most recent information as it becomes available.
- October 10, 2018: Hurricane Michael makes landfall. DEO advocates on behalf of the state of Florida to HUD and to Congress for funding for the CDBG-DR program. DEO works closely with state and federal partners including: Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and HUD.
- November 2018 - February 2019: DEO participates in local stakeholder meetings to gather projections of unmet needs, evaluate programs that could be created or expanded, and research best practices from other states.
- March 2019: DEO begins unmet needs assessment in impacted areas.
- May 2019: DEO launches online Hurricane Michael Long-Term Recovery Survey.
- May 7, 2019: DEO Office of Long-Term Resiliency leadership travels to Washington DC specifically to advocate for funding for Michael-impacted communities.
- May 8, 2019: $448 million in CDBG-DR funding announced for Florida communities affected by Hurricane Michael.
- December 3, 2019: Additional $287 million in CDBG-DR funding announced for Hurricane Michael-impacted communities, bringing the total amount to $735 million.
- January 27, 2020: HUD published the Federal Register necessary for DEO to work with partners to develop the federally required State Action Plan.
- February 12 - 20, 2020: DEO hosted a series of public workshops in communities impacted by Hurricane Michael to seek input for the use of CDBG-DR funds.
- February 21, 2020: As part of the development of the State Action Plan, DEO hosted a webinar to provide more information on the next steps for the state of Florida, community partners and local communities.
- March 5, 2020: DEO closes out Hurricane Michael Long-Term Recovery Survey.
- March 11, 2020: DEO posted a draft of the State Action Plan for public comment.
- April 10, 2020: The public comment period for the draft of the State Action Plan closed.
- May 14, 2020: DEO submitted State Action Plan to HUD. HUD has 45 days to approve or disapprove the plan.
- June 26, 2020: HUD approved the State Action Plan.
- August 20, 2020: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida Voluntary Home Buyout Program for Hurricane Michael.
- September 2, 2020: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida General Infrastructure Repair Program for Hurricane Michael.
- October 2, 2020: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida Workforce Recovery Training Program for Hurricane Michael.
- October 5, 2020: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida Technical Assistance Grant Program for Hurricane Michael.
- November 18, 2020: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida Hometown Revitalization Program for Hurricane Michael.
- January 29, 2021: DEO launched application for the Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Program for Hurricane Michael.
- June 17, 2021: DEO launched application for the second round of funding for the Rebuild Florida General Infrastructure Repair Program for Hurricane Michael.
- October 10, 2022: Governor DeSantis announces more than $126 million for the second round of Hurricane Michael infrastructure repair ($84+ million) and mitigation ($42+ million) funding awards.
2020 Federal Register
The Federal Register provides guidance on HUD program requirements to state and local governments. Below are links to the federal register guidance applicable to funding associated with Hurricane Michael.