ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Petersburg will receive an additional $173 million in federal disaster recovery funding to help residents impacted by Hurricane Milton, according to a city news release.
The funding was announced Oct. 9, the second anniversary of Hurricane Milton, and will be administered through the city's Sunrise St. Pete program, which provides assistance to residents recovering from hurricanes.
Of the new allocation, $126 million will directly support housing recovery for St. Pete residents, the news release said. The remaining $47.6 million will support infrastructure and mitigation projects in partnership with Pinellas County.
The funding comes after the city received an initial $159.8 million through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program following hurricanes Helene and Idalia in 2024. That initial allocation didn't cover residents affected solely by Hurricane Milton, the news release said.
City officials said they worked with federal partners to address the issue, and HUD subsequently identified a geocoding error that had directed funding away from St. Petersburg to residents outside city limits.
Once agreements with HUD and Pinellas County are finalized, the city plans to prioritize residents who were previously denied assistance through Sunrise St. Pete but were impacted by Milton.
Residents who previously applied for the program do not need to submit a new application. The city will review existing applications and may contact eligible applicants through a case manager.
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