#SeminoleTribe gets federal disaster declaration for #HurricaneMilton
October 11, 2024
Story by Dianna Hunt, Indian Country Today (ICT)
"President Joe Biden has issued an emergency disaster declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida for recovery and relief efforts from damage wrought by #HurricaneMilton, which brought #rain, #tornadoes, #flooding and high winds as it moved across Central Florida after making landfall late Wednesday.
"The declaration, released Tuesday, Oct. 8, will allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency [#FEMA] to coordinate disaster relief efforts with the tribe and will provide funding to help with recovery, according to the declaration.
"It is the fourth emergency declaration for the Seminole Tribe in the last four years, including declarations for hurricanes Nicole and Ian in 2022 and for the pandemic from 2020-2023.
"A statement from the White House said that Biden administration officials had also been in touch with the #MiccosukeeTribe of Indians of Florida, the only other federally recognized tribe in the state. The tribe had not received a disaster declaration as of Thursday, though the tribe did receive a declaration in 2022 for Hurricane Nicole.
"Both Seminole and Miccosukee lands were in the path of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall from the Gulf of Mexico south of Tampa, Florida, and quickly moved across the center of the state before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean.
"The extent of the damage to the tribal areas has not been clear, though news reports indicated a tornado was spotted near the Miccosukee Service Plaza, a popular stop for food, bathrooms, and gas on the highway that stretches from Miami to Naples." [I've been there a few times as a youngster...]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seminole-tribe-gets-federal-disaster-declaration-for-hurricane-milton/ar-AA1s3zcG