After the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses 75 percent of costs, the state’s share of spending to prepare for the storm last month is expected to be $10.8 million, the state finance secretary said Monday.
The bulk of that spending, almost $8 million, is for two shelters that were used by just 52 people.
Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency on Sept. 8, which gave the state the authority to spend $60 million to deal with any impacts from Hurricane Florence.
After a southward turn, the storm lashed out violently at the Carolina coast but left Virginia largely unscathed.
Before FEMA reimbursement, Virginia’s cost for Florence was $43.38 million, a result of pre-set contracts with emergency management services, Finance Secretary Aubrey Layne said.
So regardless of how many people used the state-run Christopher Newport University and College of William and Mary shelters, the state contracted for $32 million in shelter services run by a private emergency management company called SLS.
They could have held up to 5,800 people for seven days of 24-hour operations, but the Department of Emergency Management said 52 evacuees were housed in the two shelters at peak occupancy.
The state will pay $7.95 million for its portion of shelter costs.
Additional costs after reimbursement include about $1 million for storm-related work completed by other state-run agencies, $666,478 for special teams such as urban search and rescue and incident management, and $505,692 to run the emergency operations center.
The state’s spending for Hurricane Florence is slightly more than what it spent on Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 racked up the highest bill in more than a decade at $66.3 million.
The $10.8 million for Florence doesn’t include localities’ costs for turning schools into shelters and opening emergency operation centers. Cities and counties can also apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement.
Layne said 59 local shelters opened at some point during the hurricane.
A full report on the state’s handling of the hurricane is expected in 90 days.
Marie Albiges can be reached by phone at 757-247-4962 or on Twitter @Mariealbiges
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