SILVER SPRINGS, Fla. – Central Florida managed to escape most of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, but there are still some people in the area who had serious damage to their homes.
News 6 spoke with Jim Schepard who lives in Silver Springs, Marion County. He is trying to clean up his mobile home after a tree fell on it due to the storm.
“Well, early Friday morning, 1 a.m., I was sleeping and woke to a very loud crashing sound. And as I awoke, I felt the ceiling of my bedroom caving in on my face,” Schepard said. “I felt a loud noise. I felt water, and it just really scared me. I know I woke up screaming when it happened. My brother rushed in. We put the light on and when I woke up there was tree limbs just above my head with leaves hanging. And, I was covered with, insulation, and tiles, and shingles from the roof was just everywhere. I was just covered, but the tree had somehow had just stopped. I got up without a scratch. I don’t know how I thank God for that. So luckily, nobody was injured or hurt.”
Schepard is a senior citizen with limited income and says he is applying for assistance through Marion County. Officials said they are sending an inspector to his house to see what local programs could help him.
[RELATED: Have yard debris from Helene? How to deal with it in Central Florida counties]
Schepard tried to apply for FEMA assistance, but Marion County does not qualify because it is not on the list of Florida counties in the FEMA declaration. Florida applied for and was approved for federal disaster assistance for 17 counties.
“What I would say is in Florida we have it handled,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis in Steinhatchee Monday. “We got approved for the individual assistance things we wanted. We have what we need now. Obviously, you know, there may be additional things that we’ll ask for in the future. It depends on how things shake out.”
Marion County officials said once they were done assessing damage they would give an update to the state.
[RELATED: Applying for FEMA assistance in Florida after Helene? Here’s what you need]
News 6 contacted President Biden’s Deputy Assistant Dan Koh from the White House about the devastation in our area. He told us that damage assessments are still coming in, which could mean more people would get FEMA assistance.
“Well, first and foremost, you know, the president and the vice president’s priority are to make sure that people are receiving the services they need on the ground. And we’ve been in touch with state and local elected officials in real time to understand what they need. I know that FEMA is working very closely with those local officials, and counties are being added every single day,” Koh said.
People whose homes suffered damage should file an insurance claim as soon as possible because that is important to the process of getting FEMA assistance should additional counties get approved.
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