Mission and History

The NFLTRO maintains a network within and on behalf of the faith-based, non-profit, governmental, business and other organization and agencies working toward providing a coordinated long-term recovery effort in response to the 2017 Hurricane Irma event in Duval and Nassau County.

The NFLTRO began to form in the month following the storm, as various nonprofits and other organizations began to gather to pursue long term recovery.  Throughout the fall of 2017, the group explored official formation as a long term recovery organization, as its members continued to coordinate ongoing relief and recovery efforts through their various representative agencies.  Bylaws were established December 2017, with officers elected January 2018.

Hurricane Irma’s Impact

Hurricane Irma hit Northeast Florida on September 11, 2017.  The storm knocked out power to more than half of JEA customers and caused flooding on a scale that the city has not seen in more than half a century, surpassing that which was seen in Hurricane Dora in 1964.

The impact of the storm was widespread.  More than 118,000 FEMA applications for assistance were received in Duval and Nassau Counties–indicating that nearly one in three households was affected by the storm.  More than 16,000 tenants in Duval and Nassau received rental assistance, and more than 32,000 were eligible for the Individuals and Households Program.

Damage was particularly severe in areas where flooding occurred, which happened after the majority of the wind and rain had passed.  The flooding from the storm left thousands of homes along the St. Johns River and its many tributaries damaged or uninhabitable.

In May 2018, World Renew Disaster Response Services conducted a full needs assessment to help us fully understand the overall impact of the storm, as well as the remaining long term recovery needs that exist in the community.  World Renew conducted 211 household surveys, resulting in an estimated recovery cost of $3.9 million.  The majority of these costs are related to rebuilding and repair.  We suspect this is only a fraction of the full need that exists in our community.