Washington has approved a disaster declaration for Panhandle communities hit by Hurricane Isaias, but it hasn’t announced a federal dollar amount. Meanwhile, potential insured losses in Florida have climbed to $652 million.
The declaration makes all Panhandle counties south and west of Leon County eligible for federal assistance. Funding for hazard mitigation and individual assistance remains under review.
Gov. Ron DeSantis requested the declaration Oct. 18 for Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties. Isaias struck the region as a Category 2 storm and made landfall near Destin. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, called the declaration a critical step. Walton County Emergency Management Director Jeff Goldberg said much work remains and that local officials hope individual assistance is approved.
The state Office of Insurance Regulation has logged more than 62,000 claims, including about 7,000 added in the past week. More than 52,000 are residential property claims. The rest cover auto, commercial property, business interruption, and other lines.
Santa Rosa County leads with almost 29,500 claims, followed by Escambia with just over 19,000, Okaloosa with nearly 6,000, Walton with 2,300, and Bay with 2,200.
Closure rates vary widely:
- Nearly 43 percent of residential property claims have closed.
- Just over 30 percent of private auto claims have closed.
- Nearly 12 percent of commercial property claims have closed.
Nearly 9,300 claims have been closed with a payment, while just over 15,000 closed without one. Of the claims still open, just over 4,000 have already produced some payment.
For comparison, Hurricane Michael produced $5.6 billion in Florida losses and 385,146 claims, according to the state. Isaias is running at roughly 12 percent of that dollar figure.
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