DeSantis Announces $20 Million for Florida Coastal and Inland Storm Prep Grants
May 4, 2022 Updated 8:09 A.M. ET
FORT MYERS (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that $20 million will go toward Resilient Florida Planning Grants to help communities across the state prepare for storms.
DeSantis said that Florida is a “disaster-prone state,” and the Resilient Florida plan is meant to combat and plan ahead for natural disasters. This money will support 98 awards to help inland and coastal communities identify critical infrastructure at risk of flooding from sea level rise, storm surge and rainfall events.
“For the first time, Florida has strategic coordination guiding statewide efforts to protect coastal and inland infrastructure, and dedicated funding to support these projects,” said DeSantis. “These grants will strengthen Florida’s infrastructure to withstand the impacts of flooding and storm surge. My administration will continue the momentum to support resilience in communities across the state.”
The grants will help these communities map out a plan to stay protected during storms. The list of projects awarded Tuesday can be found here.
DeSantis announced that Florida opened an online portal to accept proposals from local governments on disaster planning and fortification for next year’s grants.
“These planning grants will provide critical information to better enhance and protect critical infrastructure from the impacts of sea level rise, flooding and storm events, ensuring the safety and resilience of Florida communities,” said DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton.
Florida’s 2021-2022 fiscal year budget also included more than $640 million to ensure communities are preparing to deal with the impacts of sea-level rise, intensified storms and flooding. Tuesday’s announcement follows the award of grants totaling over $404 million for 113 environmental resilience projects across the state, earlier this year.
