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As we continue to respond to Hurricane Milton, my team and I are traveling across FL-18, assessing Central Florida damage and meeting with state and local leaders to discuss recovery efforts.
Thank you to the National Guard, first responders, emergency management staff, utility workers and volunteers who are working to get our community back on its feet. I’m happy to see our communities banding together and supporting one another. Our resilience will help us rebuild and make our communities stronger than ever. If you need assistance, FEMA, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and other government agencies offer initial assistance to residents and business owners impacted by natural disasters. You may apply for FEMA assistance by:
Rest assured, my team and I will continue to work to ensure FEMA and related federal agencies are equipped to deal with the aftermath of strong winds, extensive flooding, power outages and post-storm debris. If my office can help, or you need assistance with a federal agency, click here or call 863-644-8215 for further assistance. It's an honor and privilege to represent you in Congress. For more information or to sign up for my e-newsletter, please visit my website at franklin.house.gov. While locally run emergency shelters have ceased operations, a state-run shelter remains open to help residents. The State of Florida warehouse is located at 660 C Fred Jones Blvd. in Auburndale. The shelter is open to the general population and their pets, who were displaced by Hurricane Milton.
As Polk County's Hurricane Milton recovery efforts continue and more resources become available to assist residents, check out https://www.polk-county.net/hurricane-milton-recovery-resources-in-polk/ for the most up-to-date information. Residential Garbage Collection resumed normal operations. This includes garbage, recycling, and yard waste. Expect delays in bagged and containerized yard waste collection. Place any extra bags of garbage next to the green garbage cart and it will be picked up.
City of Lakeland crews estimate there are between 200,000 and 250,000 cubic yards of tree and vegetative debris that will need to be removed from Lakeland area streets.Hurricane debris including large yard waste piles and household items will be collected street by street by FEMA Contractors and city claw trucks. There is no need to call in large piles of tree or household debris. The City’s contract haulers are now mobilized and currently removing debris from City streets. As a reminder, please keep debris away from trees, poles, structures, fire hydrants, and meters. Do not block the roadway with debris. Curbside debris needs to be separated into these categories:
A debris hotline has been established. Staff will be able to let the caller know where debris haulers are currently working and explain the debris removal process. The hotline is live 863-834-TREE (8733). The City of Lakeland currently has dedicated nine debris collection crews, 14 hauling units and six bucket trucks to assist in debris removal. Congresswoman Lee's office is hosting Mobile Office Hours this week to answer any questions you have regarding the FEMA disaster assistance application or any general casework questions that you may have. Please stop or call my office at (813) 393-5077.
RP Funding Center/Sikes Hall 701 W Lime St October 16, 17, 18 | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Day Seven - System Restored
Lakeland Electric has restored its system following Hurricane Milton. Power has been reinstated for customers who can safely receive service. As clean-up efforts continue, hazards such as hanging tree limbs remain, which could cause short-term outages. Customers will continue to see numerous crews in the area reconnecting service to customers whose damaged property or electrical equipment has been repaired. Customers with damaged electrical equipment or those dealing with flooding may be unable to safely receive power until the floodwaters recede or their equipment undergoes assessment and repair by a qualified electrician. Once the property owner has made repairs, customers should contact (863) 834-9535 to have power safely reconnected. Lakeland Electric would like to express its deepest gratitude to the over 500 mutual aid personnel from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida who assisted in the power restoration effort. Additionally, it extends its thanks to the men and women at Lakeland Electric who have worked tirelessly to serve their community during this emergency. Customer Service
Residential Garbage Collection resumed normal operations on Monday, October 14. This includes garbage, recycling and yard waste. Expect delays in bagged and containerized yard waste collection. Place any extra bags of garbage next to the green garbage cart and it will be picked up.
City of Lakeland crews estimate there is between 200,000 and 250,000 cubic yards of tree and vegetative debris that will need to be removed from Lakeland area streets. Hurricane debris including large yard waste piles and household items will be collected street by street by FEMA Contractors and city claw trucks. There is need to call in large piles of tree or household debris. The City’s contract debris haulers have been mobilized and Lakeland residents will start seeing the FEMA debris haulers on the street starting today. Keep debris away from trees, poles, structures, fire hydrants, and meters. Do not block the roadway with debris. Curbside debris needs to be separated into these categories:
A debris hotline has been established. Staff will be able to let the caller know where debris haulers are currently working and explain the debris removal process. The hotline is live: 863-834-TREE (8733). As of this morning there are around 100 Lakeland Electric Customers remaining without power. Dedicated field personnel have been working tirelessly to make progress. Lakeland Electric estimates that all power will be restored for those that can safely receive power by the end of the day. The damage caused by Hurricane Milton is some of the worst experienced in the community, comparable in scale to Hurricane Irma in 2017. Customers with damaged electrical equipment like a weather head or those in the heavily flooded areas may not get power until the floodwaters recede or damaged equipment undergoes assessment and repair by a qualified electrician. Please call Customer Service at 863-834-9535 to report electric emergencies and downed lines. There are some areas around Lakeland that were hit very hard with flooding. The Lakeland area experienced over 12 inches of rain in 24 hours taxing the City’s stormwater system. All area lakes are flooded, and it is very difficult to alleviate flood conditions and lower lake levels. Most of the drainage lakes, tributaries and rivers have high levels and that is not helping flood situations. There are three major watershed basins in the City of Lakeland, and outflows from area Lakes flow into either the Hillsborough River or the Peace River. The Peace and Hillsborough Rivers eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Water flows from higher elevation to lower elevation. The downstream rivers (Peace and Hillsborough) flow through relatively flat terrain with little elevation changes, which leads to significant regional flooding after major storm events. The Peace and Hillsborough Rivers have been in flood stage since the passing of Tropical Storm Debby, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton have fully exacerbated the flooding situation. This makes it very difficult to drain flooded upstream waters. The largest surface water drainage system is Lake Parker. Lakes at higher elevation that flow into Lake Parker include Lake Gibson (via Lake Crago) and Lake Mirror. Lake Bonny is at a relatively equal elevation to Lake Parker, and the City has been pushing water from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker with a very high-volume pump at 5,000 gallons per minute since August 5, 2024. The water from Lake Parker eventually flows to the Peace River via Lake Hancock but both those water bodies are also at flood level. Flooding occurred throughout the City and Polk County and the drainage continues to impact the Lake Parker/Bonny watersheds, with water steadily draining into the lakes. Even though a high-volume pump is removing water from Lake Bonny, the urbanized drainage basin continues to input water to the lake. For those still experiencing flooding situations, a self-serve sandbag site has been mobilized at 315 North Eastside Drive. The site is open from 8 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sandbags are available on a 1st come; 1st served basis as long as supplies last. The City’s stormwater system and sanitary sewer system has been taxed heavily. The City of Lakeland asks residents to reduce the use of water - only use toilets, laundry, and other water, as absolutely necessary. All used water going down the drain impacts the wastewater process in moving water through the system. Be careful and when approaching standing water. Do so with extreme caution because not all water is stormwater. Refrain from recreational contact in and around water bodies. Many of these systems have been adversely impacted by Hurricane Milton with high water levels, potential contamination and submerged structures. Hurricane Milton caused several water main breaks, and the City’s Water Department continues to work on the water system. There is a list of boil water notices in place. Go to lakelandgov.net/boilwaternotices for the latest updates. Milton made landfall as a Category Three Hurricane and was a Category Two as it travelled over Polk County. Many in the community were impacted. Both state and federal government have resources available to help those that received damage from Hurricane Milton. It’s important to register for both. Register for State Assistance at Activate Hope: www.hopeflorida.com Register for Federal Disaster Assistance: www.disasterassistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Residents that may need help with debris cleanup can call Crisis Cleanup: 844-965-1386. Volunteers may be able to assist with: fallen trees, drywall, flooring & appliance removal, tarping roofs and mold mitigation. The Florida Division of Emergency Management has announced the opening of Operation Blue Roof. Eligible Polk County residents can apply for this no-cost service through November 5, 2024 by visiting blueroof.gov, calling 888-ROOF-BLU (888-766-3258), or visiting a Right of Entry (ROE) collection. The Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services is hosting an insurance village at the RP Funding Center that is open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. The village will serve as an opportunity for policyholders to meet with their insurance carriers in person and work together to file insurance claims. Policyholders should bring as much documentation as they can, including:
NOTE: Due to space limitations, the insurance village will exclusively focus on insurance related issues. Staff from other agencies will not be present to assist with other post-storm benefits. For more information visit www.FloridaDisaster.org. Thank you to all those helping put the community back together. Please visit lakelandgov.net/hurricane for additional information regarding restoration and notices. As we reach the end of our restoration efforts, the numbers on the outage map fluctuate. as damaged meters are replaced and service is then restored to customers whose damaged electrical equipment has been repaired. Hazards remain, like hanging tree limbs, that can cause short-term outages. Our efforts to restore power have not diminished. We are dedicating all of our resources to restoring power to our community.
Power restoration and circuit sweeps will continue today. This means we inspect power lines from beginning to end in each circuit to locate and repair low-hanging wires, tree limbs on wires, damaged meters, and damage to customers' electrical equipment. Crews are reconnecting service to customers whose equipment has been repaired and can now receive service. We will not rest until every customer has their power restored. Outages
Attention Florida residents filing late taxes, they are due today. However, the IRS issued new guidance for taxpayers in impacted areas, which includes every county in FL-18, our congressional district. This guidance applies to all businesses and individuals in 51 counties designated by FEMA.
Extension of certain tax filing deadlines: IRS has extended various filing deadlines for taxpayers in impacted areas, including 2024 individual/business returns, certain quarterly estimated income tax payments, and certain payroll/excise taxes. o Click here for the full list of extensions and respective dates o Click here for more information from the IRS on disaster assistance Tax relief for qualified payments, disaster-related losses: IRS released provided guidance to taxpayers on how to address disaster-related losses in their 2024 tax return, as well as providing guidance on how qualified disaster relief payments – like government assistance payments – are generally excluded from gross income. o Click here for a general walkthrough of these policies (under header “Additional tax relief”) o Click here for more information on tax treatment of disaster-related losses o Click here for more information on tax treatment of qualified disaster relief payments Waiver of fuel excise tax: In response to fuel disruptions resulting from the hurricane, IRS has waived the federal excise tax on dyed diesel within the impacted areas. This relief is retroactive to Oct. 9, 2024, and will remain in effect through Oct. 30, 2024. o Click here for more information If you have an IRS issue, or an issue with another federal agency, Congressman Franklin's office can help. Please click here or call (863) 644-8215 for assistance. We currently have fewer than 200 customers without power who can safely receive service. Our efforts to restore power have not diminished. We are dedicating all of our resources to restoring power to our community.
Power restoration and circuit sweeps will continue through tomorrow. This means we will be inspecting power lines from beginning to end in each circuit to locate and repair low-hanging wires, tree limbs on wires, damaged meters, and damage to customers' electrical equipment. Crews will also be reconnecting service to customers whose equipment has been repaired and are now able to receive service. We will not rest until every customer has their power restored. Outages
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has announced the opening of Operation Blue Roof. Eligible Polk County residents can apply for this no-cost service through Nov. 5 by visiting blueroof.gov, calling 888-ROOF-BLU (888-766-3258), or visiting a Right of Entry (ROE) collection.
ROE collection center locations are listed on blueroof.gov, and these are sites where residents can sign up for Blue Roof assistance using an ROE form, which gathers information about the residence. This program is a free service for homeowners and permanently occupied rental properties, providing fiber-reinforced, industrial-strength sheeting to protect storm-damaged roofs until homeowners can make permanent repairs. |
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