NEW YORK – In 18 months since Hurricane Sandy, federal assistance to New York totals nearly $8.7 billion. FEMA continues to assist the state in its recovery and with its resiliency plans so that it will be better able to withstand future storms.
The following is a summary of the federal and state assistance provided in the New York Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts from Oct. 29, 2012 through Apr. 18, 2014. For this disaster, FEMA’s Public Assistance program reimburses local, state and tribal governments and eligible private nonprofit organizations 90 percent of eligible costs for emergency and permanent work.
Highlights
• Nearly $2.5 billion obligated by FEMA for infrastructure repair and replacement, debris removal and emergency protective measures.
• More than $35 million obligated by FEMA for resiliency against storms and coastal flooding.
• Nearly $1 billion spent to help individuals and families meet their basic needs and begin to recover. This includes $864 million to pay for transitional housing for families displaced by Hurricane Sandy.
Rebuilding New York Infrastructure
FEMA Public Assistance funds have been obligated to reimburse local and state governments and certain nonprofit entities for debris removal for emergency protective measures and to rebuild infrastructure and replacement. Thus far, it includes the following in Mitigation and in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
Resiliency (Mitigation)
• In addition to funding repairs of public projects, the FEMA Mitigation program has obligated an additional $20.2 million to make those projects resilient against storms and flooding.
• More than $15.7 million has been obligated by FEMA through the Hazard Mitigation Grant program that is administered by the state.
National Flood Insurance Program
NFIP has paid more than $3.7 billion in claims to flood insurance policy holders.
FEMA Individual Assistance
• FEMA referred 211,968 households to the Individuals and Households Program.
• The program disbursed nearly $1 billion to survivors. Of that total, $864 million was for housing assistance.
• Maximum grants of $31,900 were given to 5,247 applicants.
• Nearly 5,600 survivors received more than $8.9 million in disaster unemployment assistance.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
• SBA has approved 23,192 individuals and businesses for disaster loans totaling more than $1.57 billion.
• Of that, about $1.3 billion was approved for homeowners and renters and about $265.1 million approved for businesses.
New rebuilding projects continue to be approved as New York recovers from Hurricane Sandy and builds resiliency.