Description

The series of storms damaged more than 400 buildings across the county, with net losses of $40 million and an additional $20 million in debris costs. The job was large and complex, and Adjusters International developed and implemented a cohesive grant-management process for recovery from all four hurricanes.

This strategy has integrated the overlapping layers of federal disaster relief allowing systematic funding for recovery from private insurance, FHWA and NRCS; AI has the expertise to integrate and manage the grants from all such funding sources.

Major projects include the Sanibel Causeway, which was eligible for funding from multiple resources. Projects of a smaller scope include funding from FEMA to remove non-native (and as such, non-hurricane resistant) Australian Pine trees from Sanibel. The 70-foot-tall trees snapped under hurricane-force winds with the potential to cause serious damage.

 

Hurricane Wilma, 2005


When Wilma came in 2005, AI was asked to continue its operations in the storm-struck Lee County and the cities of Ft. Myers and Sanibel, immediately beginning debris removal operations with a $10 million FEMA grant. The expedited grant was issued by FEMA without pause because of the county’s demonstrated sound management of the FEMA Public Assistance Program in 2004.

Particular to a territory hit repeatedly by disasters, Adjusters International worked to secure funding for territories hit by both Charley (2004) and Wilma (2005), and these areas were fully eligible for FEMA grants.