Rubio Presses FEMA Officials on Disaster Aid for Recent Pandhandle Tornadoes

Press Release

At a Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee hearing today regarding federal disaster responses, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) questioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on its decision to decline recent disaster assistance requests for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties after two tornadoes caused extensive damage to the region last month. Rubio encouraged FEMA to combine the damage assessments for the two tornadoes into one disaster request.

"Given that these storms occurred in the same week and were only 30 miles apart, I believe FEMA should be able to roll the damage totals from the area into one request," said Rubio. "It's my understanding that this has been done in the past for similar disasters. So what are the guidelines for assessing the cumulative effects from storms in close proximity and time?"

In response to Rubio's question, FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Elizabeth Zimmerman reiterated FEMA's position that the two tornadoes in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties last month caused insufficient damage to require federal disaster assistance. She stated that the agency found "about 85 homes with major damage or destroyed. That was of a level that it was felt that the State would be able to handle that."

"Florida is victim to multiple storms that occur within a short period of time," responded Rubio. "In and of themselves, the one storm -- the one tornado -- may not reach the threshold, but if you combine all these events happening within the same geographic area, in close proximity of time and space, if you add those up it gets pretty dramatic. And Florida seems to be repeatedly impacted by this. I hope we can establish guidelines that allow us to meet that threshold, and I'm sure we'll work with your agency to do that I hope."

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