Federal agencies have deployed nearly 22,000 employees to Florida and surrounding states to help with the response efforts following Hurricane Irma, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday afternoon.
Ten times more non-FEMA employees were sent to Florida to carry out tasks associated with their agencies than agency employees.
The Department of Homeland Security agency has sent Florida residents 2.4 million meals and 1.4 million liters of water, according to a department press release.
FEMA has also prepared 5 million meals, 100,000 tarps, 2 million gallons of water, 47,000 blankets, and nearly 19,000 cots in nearby Alabama in case they are needed.
An estimated 127,000 people took shelter in Florida’s 460 evacuation centers.
The Commerce Department’s Corporation for National and Community Service activated more than 160 AmeriCorps members.
Health and Human Services moved 550 personnel from the National Disaster Medical System and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps into Florida before the storm landed Saturday. Three medical teams are helping at hospital centers on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and evacuating dialysis patients.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention sent a public health media specialist to Florida to work with field teams.
Housing and Urban Development will send additional staff to work in shelters and disaster recovery centers this week.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs deployed some personnel to work with the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, both of whom have lost power. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to carry out field measurements and planting storm-tide sensors on the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
The Defense Logistics Agency is sending 50,000 gallons of unleaded gas and 50,000 gallons of diesel to an air base in Georgia. U.S. Northern Command has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and amphibious ships USS Iwo-Jima and USS New York to begin search and rescue operations off the Florida coast when weather conditions stabilize.
Even DHS agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services deployed 100 volunteers from its Surge Capacity Force to Florida.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission activated its Region II Incident Response Center on Saturday to track the storm.
The Category 3 hurricane made landfall Sunday morning with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour on Marco Island, Fla. The storm has been downgraded and is expected to hit Atlanta as a tropical storm Tuesday.
