ATLANTA — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) center in Atlanta is open and helping to coordinate the response in Florida while looking to what may happen here in Georgia.
FEMA has more than had its hands full with flooding throughout much of the United States over the past few months and now with the devastation Hurricane Ian is leaving in its path. The agency said its well prepared with 10 FEMA regions, including the one based right here in Atlanta.
It's a busy week for Manny Toro as the FEMA region 4 response director and his staff operate in the Atlanta location 24 hours a day.
“My heart goes out to those that were impacted in southwest Florida," Toro said. “Right now, our number one priority is supporting the state of Florida as they execute their incident, response and recovery.”
President Joe Biden said he made it clear to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and city mayors in the state that Washington was ready and able to help in any way that the state needed.
Biden recently approved a major disaster declaration for individual assistance in nine Florida counties.
Toro pointed out that he recommends that residents reach out to their insurance company to get the process of personal aid and assistance started.
The focus will soon turn to responding to emergencies and helping people in Georgia and South Carolina.
“We have a team. It's a threat analysis unit here in region 4," Toro said. "They communicate closely with our meteorologist to anticipate the potential impacts of this severe weather and specifically of Hurricane Ian.”
Those meteorologists will use predictive data to make recommendations on when and where to send resources.
“We as a federal family have also had pre-positioned resources in the southeast United States that we can also bring into theater as well to support those efforts," Toro said.
Toro said FEMA region 4, which includes 8 states, will maintain close communication with Georgia and South Carolina Emergency Management, as well as U.S. Homeland Security.