Florida leaders seeking federal disaster funds after Brevard flooding

Governor Ron DeSantis officially asking the White House for a major disaster declaration to get crucial relief funds into Brevard County. This all comes as the cleanup continues to clear tons of debris following last week's historic flooding. And joining us live today is Congressman Mike Herodopoulos. Congressman, always good to see you. Appreciate you joining us today. Good morning, John. Okay, so we know by now this was a freak storm, right? Two feet of snow in your area there. It wasn't a hurricane, though. Does that make it harder to get the FEMA approval that's needed here for federal dollars? That's exactly the case, John. First, I want to say we are working diligently to help those people impacted. Thousands of homes were impacted. I really commend the folks at the city and county level to really help those folks out. As you know, during the last two days of the campaign, most of my time was actually spent talking with mayors and councilmen to see what we can do. And most importantly, getting that initial state declaration. And then Governor DeSantis and I have now worked together to make sure the president, meaning FEMA, will now step up and help out those folks. It's not just the cities and counties, but there's individual residents impacted by this historic rainfall of over two feet in some parts of our county. Yeah, so again, Congressman, this one's different because, you know, a lot of times we get FEMA funding, it fixes up the beaches, it fixes up businesses. This is primarily just people who are living in the wrong area. Does that also change the dynamic here that you're talking about a relatively small group of people with this storm? Well, to me, it's a lot of people. It's over a thousand, I think a couple thousand people were directly impacted by the storm, meaning water intrusion in their home. And of course, a lot of people didn't even get out and vote because they were stranded in their home. That said, the unique part of this, to your point, John, is that this was not a named storm. We all know after living in Florida since 1989 that hurricanes get names. This was a radically different storm, over two feet of rain in about 48 hours. And so because it did not have a named storm, we had a really worried storm. the system to make sure that we activated first the state and now the federal dollars to come down help people out who have been so dramatically impacted by the storm and I'm just glad that we all coordinated together to make sure that the long-term solutions will be found but people are hurting right now and I'm just so grateful for the first responders and so many volunteers who came out and helped those in need. So congressman take us through the process here the the governor has said what he said does it next go to the president or where does it go from here as far Yeah, so the first thing we did literally the day of the storm, we got the state declaration so that the cities and counties would be reimbursed for their dollars spent to help people out. The next step, that is the governor, not the Congress, but the governor. He needs to ask the president, which in turn is FEMA, for disaster relief, not just for the government, but more importantly for the individuals impacted by this dramatic storm as you're seeing the pictures today. That is real. Those are not fictitious images here. This is what people went through, and it was, again, it came out of nowhere. When we have a hurricane, as you know, John, we're prepared. This just kept on raining for 48 hours. And as I mentioned, the last two days before the campaign, we were hustling to try to make sure first responders were able to get there And also to get that stake state declaration to make sure that people in need are helped. And again, I can't be more grateful to the people who stepped up and really helped people out in need. So I want to follow up on the last point you made, that nobody saw it coming. I mean, yeah, we knew some rain was coming, but this, no, no way. So people didn't have time to get prepared. What do you need your residents there to do now, and how long will it take to maybe get some money back to them? Well, the number one thing we've asked as we're getting these decorations from the state and federal government is chronicle everything that's happened to your home. But make sure you take those pictures so you can get reimbursed for some of those lost items. But again, by getting this federal declaration for individual cases, we're going to try to help those folks out. So you can call, of course, your city, your county, or you can, of course, call our office, 632-1776. If you've been impacted, we'll get that information. We'll make sure it gets to the right people because we want to help those folks out. Again, this was something we've never seen in my time since 1989, and we're so grateful that we can actually get some help to them. But this is where it makes I want you to chronicle it, let people know, and then as quickly as we can move through that process, we'll get those dollars and resources out. But right now, we're just trying to make sure people are safe and get all that debris off our street and try to get that water completely out of harm's way. All right. Congressman Mike Herodopoulos, always good to see you, Congressman. Appreciate your time today. Thank you.