LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Counties along the Gulf coast of Florida were the largest recipients of FEMA money in the wake of Hurricane Irma this year, according to numbers just released by the federal agency.
Lee County, home to the coastal communities of Fort Myers and Cape Coral, led the state for the most amount of money granted, with over $47 million granted to 125,000 applicants.
Collier County, where the storm made landfall in Marco Island, was granted over $32 million to 72,000 applicants.
Interestingly, two counties located over 130 miles from landfall had some of the largest totals of money granted, mostly due to larger populations. $44 million was handed out to Pinellas County residents, while Hillsborough County residents collected over $37 million. Those two counties also had the highest numbers of registrants.
As of December 12, more than $954 million in FEMA individual assistance has been approved to help Floridians recover from Hurricane Irma, and more than 2.64 million registrations have been received.
County/registrations/monies approved (grants)
Charlotte 14,658 $4,934,419
Citrus 14,306 $4,274,857
Collier 72,251 $32,386,673
DeSoto 4,459 $2,871,200
Glades 1,761 $ 892,211
Hardee 4,071 $2,290,648
Hendry 8,149 $4,027,177
Hernando 14,192 $5,501,024
Highlands 23,526 $8,621,235
Hillsborough 130,058 $37,296,079
Lee 125,711 $47,206,114
Manatee 31,011 $$9,693,793
Pasco 47,750 $15,378,635
Pinellas 145,527 $44,445,878
Okeechobee 5,271 $2,021,209
Sarasota 30,804 $9,534,115
Sumter 7,126 $2,567,894
