What to know about FEMA's disaster response ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall

As Florida still prepares for the impact of Hurricane Milton, the U.S. government's main disaster relief arm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is working to provide assistance during back-to-back storms.

Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm Monday as it targeted Florida's west coast, but is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples and Orlando.

Late last month, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida, leaving a 500-mile path of destruction from Florida to the southern Appalachians that was nothing short of catastrophic.

As officials warn about the dangers Hurricane Milton is expected to pose in the wake of Helene's damage, understanding what role FEMA does and does not play in disaster relief can help defuse misinformation as the agency contributes helps response efforts.

What is FEMA doing?

According to the agency, FEMA works to provide assistance to people in affected areas before, during and after disasters by providing money, technical assistance and guidance.

Former President Jimmy Carter signed an executive order establishing FEMA in 1979. The agency is headquartered in Washington, DC

FEMA is working with affected states to coordinate resources and provide public assistance to cover the costs of debris removal, life-saving emergency response efforts, and restoration of public infrastructure.

FEMA also offers federal grants to victims to help with temporary housing, emergency home repairs, loss of personal property, and funeral and medical expenses, among other things.

However, the federal agency is not solely responsible for the disaster relief and recovery process, according to Joshua Dozor, who worked for FEMA for over a decade and most recently served as deputy assistant administrator for disaster operations.

“FEMA is a small agency – it's not an army with trucks,” Dozor told ABC News.

Dozor described the branch as more of an “enabler” of disaster relief, saying, “FEMA coordinates resources across departments and agencies, non-governmental organizations and contractors to help the state take the lead in providing the response.”

Following the damage from Hurricane Helene, the agency faced a wave of criticism and misinformation surrounding its response. However, the agency reports that millions of dollars in aid have been provided as the effort continues.

Federal assistance from FEMA to affected Helene survivors totaled more than $137 million as of Sunday, according to the agency.

FEMA has delivered more than 14.9 million meals, more than 13.9 million gallons of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps to the region, the agency said.

“You'll see FEMA at the critical coordination hubs, you'll see them in the field operations centers, you'll see them in the state operations centers, you'll see them in the key hospitals – but.” They won't be FEMA, so to speak -Wear hats,” Dozor said.

Is FEMA running out of money?

As a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FEMA has an operating budget and a disaster relief fund that Congress replenishes annually.

In September, FEMA's disaster relief fund received $20 billion, the same amount Congress appropriated last year. However, about $8 billion is earmarked for recovery from previous storms and mitigation projects.

“We have the resources we need to treat Helene and Milton at the same time. Nobody needs to worry about FEMA running out of resources,” said Keith Turi, FEMA’s acting deputy administrator for response and recovery, during an interview on ABC News Live Monday.

Will help from Helene survivors be redirected to care for Milton?

Turi assured that funding for the Helene response in the southeast will not be affected by the impact of Milton.

“We continue to actively support North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Tennessee in the response to Helene and will not divert necessary human resources from these ongoing responses,” he said.

Will households receive more than $750 in aid?

As recovery efforts continue, people who applied for direct relief payments from FEMA received an initial $750 grant from the agency. However, this is not the total amount allocated to those affected.

That number, set by Congress and not the Biden administration, comes from FEMA's Serious Needs Assistance program and is intended to help survivors pay disaster-related expenses such as food, water, baby formula and other emergency supplies.

However, FEMA's assistance will not result in completely restoring destroyed homes to their original condition. The maximum amount a household can receive from the agency for recovery is $42,500.

For more information on misinformation related to FEMA's disaster response, visit the agency's Hurricane Helene: Rumor Response page.