TAMPA, Fla. — For homeowners who want to lift their homes to avoid flood damage, the deadline to apply for Florida’s elevate program is 7 p.m., Friday.

The program is run by the Florida Department of Emergency Management and provides assistance to homeowners who are seeking to elevate their home above the flood plain.

Federal funds of $400 million were put aside for Elevate Florida, a program that offers a step-scale of assistance based on hurricane damage history.

The application process opened in February and offering to cover more than half the cost of projects like raising a home and wind resiliency among other things.

Homeowners that have seen four or more insured losses get 100% coverage.

And homeowners with two to three instances of hurricane-related losses can get 90% of assistance.

And the state will pay 75% of costs for homeowners with one insured loss.

FDEM Kevin Guthrie told Florida’s Senate Banking and Insurance Committee the goal of the program is to keep homes on local government tax rolls.

“If we can elevate them out of the floodway that property stays on the tax rolls at the local level in perpetuity, so I think you see where my mindset is at,” Guthrie said. “Fewer accusations which has been typically the trend of the past, to now doing home elevations and home reconstructions, which is I want to be the wave of the future, making Florida more resilient.”

Home elevation is just one of four categories of assistance the state is offering.

Homeowners can also qualify for mitigation reconstruction, which is an alternative to structure elevation when the building is not sound enough to elevate.

There is also acquisition and demolition.

And finally, homeowners can qualify for wind mitigation.

According to the Elevate Florida, eligible applicants must:

• Be over the age of 18,
• Be a U.S. citizen
• Be the legal property owner of a residential property in the State of Florida, and
• Be able to contribute up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the project's total cost.

Area leaders urge residents to submit applications

Volusia County leaders are urging residents to submit their applications for state funding through the Elevate Florida program to strengthen their homes against natural disasters.

One of the major storms that hit Florida last year was Hurricane Milton, which the aftermath continues to be a major focus as repairs and prevention work continue.

“As of last week, I do know that Volusia County has had more than 225 projects submitted on behalf of property owners,” said Clayton Jackson, the Volusia County public information officer.

Jackson says even if people do not have all of the information to fully complete the application, the most important thing to remember is to create an account, fill out what you can and submit it before the deadline.