MEDICAL EXAMINERS INDICATE 135 OF 306 FUNERALS FEMA PAID FOR WERE JUSTIFIED

Florida Medical Examiners meeting in Key Biscayne, Fla., say their autopsies and investigations show that no more than 135 deaths in Florida were hurricane-related, while FEMA the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid benefits for 306 funerals. The examiners said they were sure 240 of the funerals were not hurricane-related.

That number could change. Several Panhandle counties, including Escambia and Santa Rosa, have not yet completed their tabulations–so the numbers could rise.

The medical examiners’ told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel they have requested more information from FEMA, but have gotten no response so far. They particularly want to find out what criteria FEMA used in the classifying the deaths hurricane related.

FEMA paid for hundreds of funerals last year of Floridians whose deaths had nothing to do with the four hurricanes that hit the state, according to an already published Sun-Sentinel report.

FEMA approved funeral claims in Florida for $1.3 million, though an agency spokeswoman said it actually turned down more applications than it approved.