NEW YORK — Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mission has been to help individuals and families recover from the disaster and will continue to support residents until the mission is completed. As of today, FEMA has approved more than $784 million in individual assistance for New York Sandy survivors.

FEMA is reaching out to all 13 designated counties, focusing on the hardest hit areas of New York state. Assistance to the hardest-hit areas includes:

• Bronx   $2 million
• Kings   $169.1 million
• Nassau   $257.8 million
• New York   $11.5 million
• Queens   $200.4 million
• Richmond   $80.6 million
• Suffolk  $57.9 million

FEMA provides the following snapshot of the disaster-recovery effort as of December 14:

• More than 253,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance with FEMA and more than $784 million has been approved.  More than 128,000 people have applied through the online application site at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or on their smart phone at m.fema.gov.
• 26 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date more than 94,000 survivors have been assisted at DRCs in New York.
• 114 inspectors in the field have completed 160,986 home inspections – completing 98 percent of inspections.
• 2 Points of Distribution or PODs remain open providing meals, water and blankets, both in Nassau County. 
• 13 New York counties are designated for both individual and public assistance. These are Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved nearly $163 million in disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses. The SBA has staff members at every FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center and 19 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance.

Individuals can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Applicants who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4085, http://twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog