What to know about FEMA disaster relief ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall  

As a still-reeling Florida braces for Hurricane Milton’s impact, the U.S. government’s top disaster relief arm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is working to provide relief amid back-to-back storms.

Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm on Monday while taking aim at Florida’s west coast, but is forecast to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Hurricane watches are in effect in Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples and Orlando.

Late last month, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, leaving a 500-mile path of destruction from Florida through the southern Appalachians that has been nothing short of catastrophic.

As officials warn of the dangers Hurricane Milton could bring on the heels of Helene’s damage, understanding what role FEMA does and doesn’t play in disaster relief can help mitigate misinformation as the agency works to aid in response efforts.

What does FEMA do?

FEMA works to supply aid to people in affected areas before, during and after disasters by providing money, technical assistance and guidance, according to the agency.

Former President Jimmy Carter signed an executive order to establish FEMA in 1979, and the agency is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

FEMA works with affected states to coordinate resources and deliver public assistance to cover costs for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective procedures and restoring public infrastructure.

FEMA also offers federal grants to victims to help them with temporary housing, emergency home repairs, loss of personal property, and funeral and medical expenses, among other things.

However, the federal agency is not solely in charge of the disaster relief and recovery process, according to Joshua Dozor, who worked for FEMA for over a decade and most recently served as the deputy assistant administrator for response operations.

“FEMA is a small agency — they’re not an army with trucks,” Dozor told ABC News.

Describing the branch as more of an “enabler” for disaster relief, Dozor said, “FEMA coordinates resources across departments and agencies, non-government organizations, contractors, to help the state take the lead role in delivering the response.”

In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s damage, the agency has faced a wave of criticism and misinformation surrounding its response; however, the agency reports that aid has been delivered in the millions as efforts continue.

As of Sunday, FEMA’s federal assistance for affected Helene survivors surpassed $137 million, according to the agency.

FEMA has shipped over 14.9 million meals, more than 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to the region, the agency said.

“You’ll see FEMA at the critical nodes of coordination, you’ll see them at the operation centers in the field, you’ll see them at the states’ operations center, you’ll see them at the key hospitals — but they won’t be wearing FEMA hats, so to speak,” Dozor said.

Is FEMA running out of money?

As a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA uses an operating budget and disaster relief fund that Congress replenishes annually.

In September, FEMA’s disaster relief fund received $20 billion, the same amount that was supplied by Congress last year. However, approximately $8 billion is set aside for recovery from previous storms and mitigation projects.

“We have the resources that we need to handle Helene and Milton at the same time; no one needs to be concerned about FEMA losing the resources,” Keith Turi, FEMA’s acting associate administrator for response and recovery, said during an interview on ABC News Live Monday.

Will aid be diverted from Helene survivors to cover Milton?

Turi assured that funding for Helene response across the the southeast will not be impacted by the effects of Milton.

“We are still actively supporting North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Tennessee in the response to Helene, and we will not divert any required personnel resources from these ongoing responses,” he said.

Will households receive more than $750 in aid?

As recovery efforts continue, individuals who applied for direct relief payments from FEMA received a $750 initial stipend from the agency; however, this is not the total amount that will be allocated to those affected.

That number, which is designated by Congress not the Biden administration, comes from FEMA’s Serious Needs Assistance program and is meant to help survivors pay for expenses related to a disaster, such as food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies.

However, FEMA assistance will not fully restore destroyed homes to their original condition. The most a household can receive from the agency to rebuild is $42,500.

For more information on misinformation surrounding FEMA’s disaster response, you can visit the agency’s Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response page.