A Year After Hurricane Sandy: New York Recovery By The Numbers

Oct. 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy strikes with a storm surge weather experts in New York had never seen before.

The first 48 hours

• 1,200 FEMA specialists on the ground in New York
• Five mobile disaster recovery centers open
• 350 ambulances deployed from around the country to New York
• 11 disaster medical assistance teams and U.S. Public Health Service officers arrive
• Oct. 31, 2012, the first FEMA Individual Assistance grants approved for $1.7 million
• U.S. Department of Transportation authorizes $10 million for repairs to roads, bridges and tunnels

Response milestones at one year (as of Oct. 15)

• More than $8.3 billion in total federal assistance approved for Individual Assistance grants, SBA low-interest disaster loans, National Flood Insurance Program payments and Public Assistance grants.

Individual Assistance

• More than $1 billion approved for individuals and households including:
  • More than $857 million for housing assistance
  • More than $145 million for other needs, including clothing, household items, disaster-related damage to a vehicle, and disaster-related medical and dental expenses
• 272,045 contacted FEMA for help or information
• 185,208 housing inspections completed
• 65 disaster recovery centers opened
• 183,145 visits to disaster recovery centers
• 5,944 individuals and families housed temporarily in hotel rooms under the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program
• 5,592 survivors received disaster unemployment assistance

U.S. Small Business Administration

• More than $1.5 billion in SBA low-interest disaster loans approved for homeowners, renters and businesses

National Flood Insurance Program

• More than $3.7 billion in flood insurance payments made to policyholders

Public Assistance

• More than $2.1 billion approved in FEMA Public Assistance grants to communities and some nonprofit organizations that serve the public
• 2,712 projects approved so far
• More than 21,000 families were able to remain in their homes while repairs were made because of the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power and the New York City Rapid Repairs programs

A whole community response

• 500 voluntary agencies involved in recovery
• More than 3.2 million meals and 2.4 million liters of water distributed
• 26 languages used to communicate assistance information to survivors
• More than 1 million multilingual fliers distributed
• Power restored for 2.1 million New Yorkers
• Nearly 6.4 million cubic yards of debris removed
• At peak, more than 4,150 deployed to New York by FEMA and other federal agencies
• 42 federal agencies assisted FEMA during Hurricane Sandy in New York
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drained 149.7 million gallons of water from the New York City metro area, equivalent to 227 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• The Corps supplied 211 generators that produced power equivalent to meeting the requirements for 50,000 single-family homes
• Approximately 1.1 million pounds of food provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• The Defense Logistics Agency delivered 2.3 million gallons of fuel to distribution points in New York and New Jersey
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assigned navigation response vessels to survey the Port of New York for navigation hazards