Orange, Osceola to open post-Ian resource centers
Orange and Osceola counties will open federal disaster recovery centers for residents still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, their governments announced Saturday.
Osceola announced the opening of its location at the Hart Memorial Library in downtown Kissimmee on Saturday morning, while plans for Orange’s center in Barnett Park were released later that day. Both facilities, set to be open Sunday, were described to be a “one-stop shop” for people and businesses seeking help navigating state and federal programs, like housing resources and assistance for small businesses, the county said in statement.
The federally-run disaster recovery centers will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Additional locations in the region will be announced in the coming days,” a joint statement released by FEMA and Orange County said.
Residents are urged to register before visiting a center, which they can do on at disasterassistance.gov, which is a federal government website dedicated to disaster assistance or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362.
The announcement comes as floodwaters continue to affect residents after Ian swept through Central Florida. As of Thursday, an interactive map showing water levels throughout Osceola indicated the flooding in communities like Good Samaritan Village, which county officials are considering seizing due to repeated flooding, are mostly centered near the county’s lakes.
Meanwhile, residents throughout Orange County, including the working-class Orlo Vista community in west Orlando, are also cleaning up following heavy floods and other storm damage.
Initial estimates for damage to homes and businesses were assessed at more than $170 million, three times the amount suffered during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
More than 100 deaths have been confirmed to be related to Ian as of Friday evening, according to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. Though mostly centered in southwest Florida, two have been reported in Osceola.
It’s not clear how much damage Ian caused in Osceola, though officials consider the post-storm flooding to be historic.