NORTH PORT, Fla. — FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell stopped by North Port as part of the agency's efforts to help Floridians recover from Hurricane Ian.
Criswell highlighted the city's disaster recovery center, which is one of 14 in Florida. Nearby, another center is open in Englewood.
"In Sarasota County alone, we have over 40,000 families that have registered for assistance already," Criswell said.
Criswell said she the center is place to help people navigate which resources are going to best to help them recover.
"Everybody's situation is so specific and unique, and it's a center like this, where they can talk to a variety of people," Criswell said.
The centers consist of partnerships from federal and state agencies, along with non-profits and faith-based communities. Plans are also in place to reach people in areas most vulnerable and underserved, Criswell said. For instance, those involved are looking at areas where people have not registered for assistance in order to target resources into those communities.
When asked what made recovery efforts for Hurricane Ian different from other disasters, Criswell noted the search and rescue assets staged ahead of time, allowing the recovery process to start sooner.
For North Port residents like Marcia Kroepil, she said talking to workers in-person gave her relief due to delays to ask for help over the phone.
The hurricane damaged her mobile home park, but the kindness from the community, including her visit to the center, is giving her hope that everything will be okay.
"There's still good people in this world," Kroepil said.
The North Port disaster recovery center can be found at:
4675 Career Lane
North Port, FL 34289
The Englewood disaster recovery center can be found at:
3450 N Access Road
Englewood, FL 34224
For more information on how to receive help, visit this link.