According to a press release from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who represents the 25th District of Florida in the United States House of Representatives, the City of Miami Springs was awarded close to $2 million in FEMA reimbursements from last year’s cleanup after Hurricane Irma.

Mario Diaz Balart

Below is the complete press release from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25) issued the following statement after the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) announced it had awarded funding to the City of Miami Springs through its Public Assistance program. The total cost of the debris clean up project is $2.15 million, and through FEMA’s PA program, the agency will reimburse 90%, or $1.93 million.

“I am pleased Miami Springs was awarded this money to help with the cost-share of clean up after Hurricane Irma. Irma left behind a trail of debris across the Sunshine State, leaving many localities to bear the expense of getting their roads back to a safe, operational condition. From my meetings with local elected officials throughout the 25th District over the last year, we all agreed that FEMA is taking too long to provide these reimbursements. I am glad to see that FEMA is starting to roll out these payments, and I will continue to pressure the agency to finish reimbursing all affected communities in Southern Florida.”

BELOW IS THE PRESS RELEASE FROM FEMA:

September 12, 2018
FEMA-4337-DR-FL
FEMA News Desk: (850) 559-3395

News Release

FEMA Approves $2.1 Million for Miami Springs Community Hurricane Irma Expenses

ORLANDO, Fla. – FEMA has approved $2,149,809 to help Miami Springs with Hurricane Irma-related expenses.

The September 2017 storm deposited thousands of cubic yards of vegetative and other debris along public rights of way throughout the Miami Springs-based County Club Estates, posing a threat to public safety.

FEMA’s Public Assistance is a cost-sharing program with FEMA reimbursing applicants no less than 75 percent of eligible costs, and the remaining covered by a nonfederal source. FEMA will pay $1,934,828 or 90 percent of the total costs of this project. The federal portion is paid directly to the state, which disburses funds to the agencies, local governments and nonprofit organizations that incurred costs.

The Public Assistance program is available in all 67 Florida counties through the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Irma. More than 1,000 government entities and nonprofits across Florida are seeking PA reimbursement for Hurricane Irma.

BELOW IS VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF IRMA DAMAGE IN MIAMI SPRINGS:

Hurricane Irma hit Miami Springs on Sunday, September 10, 2017 leaving much of Miami Springs without power and thousands of trees down throughout the city.  The storm created a huge mess that took weeks to clean up.

Despite all the damage, Miami Springs dodged a bullet.  Just 4 days earlier, Irma was a category 5 storm with peak winds of 180 mph and forecasted to hit South Florida. Irma weakened crossing over Cuba, but re-intensified back to a category 4 storm in the Florida straights.  Fortunately for us, Hurricane Irma veered west of some the earlier track models and struck the Florida Keys  with 130mph winds.

Miami Springs did NOT get sustained Hurricane Force winds.
Hurricane Irma lashed the area with sustained strong Tropical Storm Force Winds.  And we definitely got Hurricane Force wind gusts.  But the sustained winds in Miami-Dade county were not over 74mph or Hurricane strength.

What’s the difference?  Sustained winds represent the highest average wind over a one-minute span.  Whereas a gust could be a brief increase in wind speed for a few seconds.  Hurricanes are measure by sustained wind speeds.

According to an article in the Miami Herald, “The top gust in Miami-Dade, recorded both at Miami International Airport and Key Biscayne on Sunday, was 99 mph.”  The airport is just south of Miami Springs, so it’s a pretty good guess that we saw similar 90+ mph gusts here in Miami Springs.

The video below documents damages in the streets of Miami Springs on the evening of September 10, 2017, as the winds started calming down as the storm headed north.

While the storm was closest to us on Sunday, the effects were being felt on Saturday, September 9th, 2017.  And the City of Miami Springs Public Works crews were busy before, during, and after the storm.  (Special shot out to Public Works Director, Tom Nash and the entire Public Works crew for getting the major roads cleared to pass so quickly.)

Fortunately, most of the damage came in the form of downed tree branches and downed trees.  Structural damage was mostly limited to downed fences and some signs.  There were a few vehicles that sustained damages from trees falling on top of them. It was hard to detect any major structural damages to any buildings.

Most importantly. No one was hurt in the area due to the storm.

Power, or lack thereof, was the biggest frustration for residents during the hot and steamy September days and nights.  But the hard working crews made daily progress getting Miami Springs back up and running in just a few days.

 

   

            

 

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