Federal Disaster Aid Total Exceeds $7.6 million in Connecticut

WINDSOR, Conn. — More than $7.6 million in federal disaster assistance has been approved for Connecticut survivors of Hurricane Sandy.

As of close of business Nov. 18:

• More than 9,100 Connecticut residents in Fairfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and New London counties and the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan Tribal Nations located within New London County have registered for federal disaster assistance.
• More than 2,000 survivors have visited the FEMA-State Disaster Recovery Centers.
• More than $7.3 million has been approved for housing assistance, including short-term rental assistance and home repair costs.
• More than 4,200 inspections of damaged properties have been conducted.
• More than $353,000 has been approved to cover other essential disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses and lost personal possessions.

People with storm losses should register with FEMA online at www.disasterassistance.gov, with a smartphone or device at m.fema.gov.  Applicants can also register by phone by calling FEMA at: 800-621-3362.  The number for TTY is: 800-462-7585.  Multilingual operators are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nine FEMA-state Disaster Recovery Centers are open in Connecticut.

Specialists at the centers can help with registration, check an individual’s case, answer questions about their claim, or review information needed to process their claim. Recovery specialists also can supply contacts for other programs that may be able to help.

Please note: All Connecticut Disaster Recovery Centers will be closed for Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 23.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362. For TTY, call 800-462-7585.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and covers the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards