The U.S. state ofis bracing for its second hurricane in a month, with Hurricane Milton rapidly intensifying and expected to make landfall shortly while FEMA funding is running out.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has said it doesn’t have the funds to make it through the hurricane season.
It comes as the state is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit last month.
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida in the coming days.President Joe Biden has warned it “could be one of the worst storms in 100 years in Florida”.
Milton has rapidly intensified over recent days, with the system developing from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane (the strongest possible rating).
Evacuation orders have been issued for large parts of Florida, with the state’s governor Ron DeSantis saying “basically the entire peninsula portion of Florida is under some type of either a watch or a warning.”
Hurricane Helene
Milton comes weeks after another hurricane, Helene, hit the U.S. Helene mostly impacted south-eastern states, including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The death toll from the Category 4 hurricane reached over 200 people, with hundreds more missing.
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Hurricane Helene caused significant damage and destruction to homes, roads, and phone towers. North Carolina cited significant cell tower outages, with over 70% of towers out of service the day after the storm hit.
FEMA
Federal financial support provided through FEMA for Hurricane Helene survivors has totalled more than $US210 million ($AU311.7 million).
The agency has sent nearly 7,000 people, including FEMA workers, to provide impacted states with support after Hurricane Helene. It’s also provided over 15 million meals and nearly 14 million litres of water.
Earlier this month,said: “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the [hurricane] season”.
Political response
Republican candidate Donald Trump has claimed the shortfall in FEMA funding is due to increased funding for migrant housing programs.
White House officials have responded to Trump’s claim, stating that FEMA funding is segmented into separate categories with no shared funds.
The White House has labelled the claim as disinformation and said “disinformation after a hurricane or other natural disaster can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most”.
