While Hurricane Irma just began affecting the U.S. mainland, making landfall Sunday morning over the lower Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm, the White House released a pair of statements increasing the federal funding for the U.S Virgin Islands and declaring a major disaster in the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The amendment to the initial U.S. Virgin Islands disaster declaration, which had been released Thursday, Sept. 7, increases the level of federal funding for "debris removal and emergency protective measures," according to the official White House press secretary statement tweeted out Sunday morning.
President Donald Trump also added a major disaster declaration in Puerto Rico early Sunday, according to The Hill, ordering federal aid to supplement recovery efforts.
"Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," the White House statement read, per the report.
"Federal funding is also available to the commonwealth and to eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Irma in the municipalities of Culebra and Vieques. Furthermore, federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures throughout the commonwealth."
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