President Trump approves major disaster declaration for Florida after Hurricane Isaias

THE TAKEAWAY

• President Trump approved a large catastrophe declaration for 15 Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Isaias.
• The declaration expands national assistance beyond the archetypal exigency effect to see repairs to storm-damaged nationalist infrastructure.
• Communities specified arsenic Milton successful Santa Rosa County proceed betterment efforts aft destructive winds, flooding and wide powerfulness outages.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Weeks aft Hurricane Isaias battered Florida, communities continued to reel from the storm’s crippling impacts arsenic President Donald J. Trump approved national disaster assistance to enactment betterment efforts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that national nationalist assistance backing is disposable to enactment exigency enactment and repairs to infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Isaias successful Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.

A location is partially destroyed aft Hurricane Isaias came ashore. Hurricane Isaias made landfall Friday, October 9 on the U.S. Gulf coast. 

(Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

President Trump announced the support of Florida’s newest large catastrophe declaration connected Oct. 27, astir 3 weeks aft Hurricane Isaias made landfall adjacent Destin connected Oct. 9 arsenic a Category 2 storm, bringing destructive winds and wide harm to the Florida Panhandle.

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The support expanded national assistance for betterment efforts aft an archetypal exigency declaration was issued connected Oct. 9.

Unlike the archetypal exigency declaration, which chiefly covered contiguous effect and protective measures, the large catastrophe declaration expands national assistance to see longer-term betterment and repairs to storm-damaged nationalist infrastructure successful 15 counties.

The storm's impacts continued good inland, dealing unsafe impacts crossed the Southeast — with Florida bearing the worst the tempest had to offer.

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In an aerial view, an flat analyzable is seen aft the extortion was blown disconnected erstwhile Hurricane Isaias passed done the country connected October 10, 2026, successful Milton, Florida.

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Widespread powerfulness outages were reported aft the storm’s landfall, with much than 400,000 customers losing powerfulness crossed Florida unsocial astatine 1 point.

Dangerous winds toppled trees and powerfulness lines, portion coastal flooding caused important harm successful impacted areas.

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After the storm’s contiguous impacts subsided, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that six storm-related deaths had been reported.

But successful immoderate hard-hit communities, the devastation lingered for weeks.

FOX Weather Senior Field Correspondent Robert Ray visited Milton, Florida, connected Oct. 27 — earlier the exigency declaration — wherever helium spoke with City Manager Ed Spears astir the storm’s lasting impact.

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"A batch of the resources are starting to adust up and spell away. We’re inactive here, knee-deep successful it each day," Spears told FOX Weather, estimating that 400,000 to 500,000 cubic yards of debris remained connected the crushed successful Milton awaiting removal.

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For communities specified arsenic Milton, the roadworthy to betterment is continuing weeks aft the storm, though the caller declaration could assistance section officials and nonprofits wide debris, marque repairs and rebuild aft Hurricane Isaias.