$813 Million In Statewide Sandy Assistance Approved By FEMA

The numbers associated with the damage from Hurricane Sandy keep growing. FEMA approved more than $813 million in individual assistance funds for people throughout New York State, an increase of almost $20 million in a week.  The total amount allocated as of Wednesday, Dec. 26 was $813,284,170. More than a quarter of a million people – 257,794 – have registered across the state with FEMA.

As of this past Wednesday, the exact numbers of individual registrations by county were:

• Rockland – 3,115
• Westchester – 5,363
• Putnam – 329

Other local counties included Orange with 1,052 registrants, Sullivan with 475 and Ulster at 237.

Just over $310 million in Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster recovery loans have been approved for individuals impacted by Hurricane Sandy. 

The deadline to submit Requests for Public Assistance has been extended to  Feb. 1, 2013 for Rockland and Westchester counties; and  Feb. 11, 2013 for Putnam, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program provides assistance to state and local governments, and certain types of private nonprofit organizations to help communities quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President.

Through the PA Program, FEMA provides supplemental federal disaster grant assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and the facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP) organizations. The federal government will pay at least 75 percent of the cost of emergency measures and restoration.