NEW YORK — Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $649 million to help individuals and families recover from the disaster.

FEMA is reaching out to all 13 designated counties with attention focused on the hardest hit areas of New York State. Assistance to the hardest-hit areas includes:

• Bronx $1.5 million
• Kings $134.2 million
• Nassau $221.2 million
• New York $7.5 million
• Queens $167.6 million
• Richmond $68.3 million
• Suffolk $45.8 million

FEMA provides the following snapshot of the disaster recovery effort as of November 24:

• More than 228,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance with FEMA and more than $649 million has been approved.  Almost 117,000 have applied through the online application site at www.disasterassistance.gov, or on their smart phone at m.fema.gov.

• 35 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date nearly 50,000 survivors have been assisted at DRCs in New York.

• Nearly 1,300 inspectors in the field have completed more than 127,000 home inspections.
• 1,099 Community Relations (CR) specialists are strategically positioned throughout affected communities, going door-to-door explaining the types of disaster assistance available and how to register. More teams continue to arrive daily.

• 9 fixed feeding sites are being operated by the New York City Office of Emergency Management.             

• 2 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), 1 Rapid Deployment Force (RDF),1 Prescription Medication Task Force Team (PMTFT) and 1 National Veterinary Response Team (NVRT) from the Department of Health and Human Services remain deployed in New York.

• 13 New York counties are designated for both individual and public assistance, including: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.

• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has staff members at 18 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance and has approved more than $23.6 million in disaster loans to both individuals and businesses.

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has moved 38,400 cubic yards of debris by barge out of the New York City area. To date, 45 loaded barges have transported debris via the Hudson River keeping up to 450 trucks off of local roadways.

• Nearly 900 New York National Guard (NYNG) soldiers continue to support recovery operations in New York City, conducting door to door wellness checks in Far Rockaway.  The National Guard, working in partnership with local authorities, visited more than 850 residences to assess local needs.

Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via smart phone at m.fema.gov.  Applicants may also call 1-800-621-3362.  Multilingual telephone operators are available to help non-English-speaking survivors register for disaster aid and to get their questions answered. After dialing FEMA’s registration/helpline callers should choose Option 3. FEMA can provide translation/interpretation services over the phone.

People who have a speech disability or hearing impairment can call TTY 800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services may call 800-621-3362.

The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice.