Disaster detail

TROPICAL STORM BONNIE AND HURRICANE CHARLEY

DR-1539-FL affected Polk County, Florida. This page rolls up the declaration record, assistance metrics, and public-assistance categories for that specific event.

Incident type
Hurricane
DR-1539-FL
Declared
Aug 13, 2004
DR
Public assistance
$42.0M
Project obligations
Registrations
32,889
Tracked households
Aid breakdown

What FEMA records show for this declaration

Public assistance

Debris Removal$30.5M
Emergency Protective Measures$4.4M
Buildings and Equipment$3.2M
Utilities$1.5M
Parks, Recreational Facilities, and Other Items$1.2M
Water Control Facilities$652K
Roads and Bridges$635K
Emergency Work Donated Resources$10K
Total PA obligated$42.0M

Individual assistance

Owner-approved dollars$21.1M
Renter-approved dollars$9.6M
Intake IHP dollars$61.7M
Validated phase 2 dollars$61.7M
Tracked registrations32,889
About this declaration

What DR-1539-FL means

DR-1539-FL is a FEMA disaster declaration that affected Polk County, Florida, with an incident window starting Aug 11, 2004 through Aug 30, 2004. The declaration type is "DR," categorized as hurricane.

When FEMA issues a declaration, it can authorize Individual Assistance (IA), Public Assistance (PA), or Hazard Mitigation (HM) programs — or any combination. IA covers direct aid to households: housing repairs, rental assistance, and other needs. PA funds infrastructure repair and emergency protective measures managed by local governments and nonprofits. The dollar figures on this page reflect what FEMA's open datasets report as obligated, which may differ from final disbursements.

This declaration is one entry in the broader Polk County disaster history page, which shows all declarations, the dominant hazard pattern, decade-by-decade trends, and flood insurance context for the county.