Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Briefing Scheduled for Philadelphia County

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation applicant briefing is scheduled for Philadelphia County, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today.

The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia. The address is:

Municipal Services Building, 16th Floor, Room Z

1401 JFK Blvd.

 

Philadelphia, PA 19104

 

At the briefing, officials from state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations will receive information about applying for federal assistance to recover from Hurricane Sandy during the period from October 26 to November 8, 2012.  

The Public Assistance program is for infrastructure recovery. Unlike Individual Assistance, through which individuals and households may apply for federal funding to help recover from disasters, Public Assistance provides funding for eligible projects to recover elements of the infrastructure. As an example, public roads, bridges and culverts are elements of the infrastructure. 

FEMA manages the Public Assistance program, approves grants and provides technical assistance to the Commonwealth and applicants. The Commonwealth educates potential applicants, works with FEMA to manage the program and is responsible for implementing and monitoring the grants awarded under the program. Local officials are responsible for identifying damage, providing information necessary for FEMA to approve grants and managing each project funded under the program.

For more specifics about the Public Assistance process, including frequently asked questions, see: http://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-frequently-asked-questions.

Federal funding is also available through the Public Assistance program on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures in all counties of the Commonwealth.

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. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion3.

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Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Briefing Scheduled for Philadelphia County

Last Chance To Visit Long Branch, Sayreville Recovery Centers

TRENTON, N.J. — The disaster recovery centers at Long Branch Fire Station No. 4 and the Sayreville Senior Center will close Saturday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m.                        

State and federal officials have been paying close attention to how many applicants are visiting centers throughout the state. Over the past weeks, the number of individuals seeking help at the Long Branch and Sayreville centers has dropped, indicating the information needs of survivors in the area have mostly been met. 

Those who want to visit a disaster recovery center in the Sayreville area can go to the Union Beach center at:

Union Beach Municipal Building

650 Poole Ave.

Union Beach, NJ 07735

Those who want to visit a disaster recovery center in the Long Branch area can go to the Belmar center at:

Belmar Municipal Building

601 Main St.

Belmar, NJ 07719                                                                                                       

Since the Long Branch disaster recovery center opened Nov. 19, 2012, there have been more than 2,500 visits from Hurricane Sandy survivors.

There have been nearly 2,500 visits to the Sayreville disaster recovery center since it opened Nov. 6, 2012.

Help and information are always available online or by phone. Survivors can check on the status of their disaster assistance applications at DisasterAssistance.gov, by using a smartphone or tablet at m.FEMA.gov, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 800-462-7585 or 711/VRS.

Survivors can ask questions about their Small Business Administration disaster home loan applications by calling 800-659-2955 or TTY 800-877-8339 or emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Additional resources are available online at FEMA.gov/SandyNJ.

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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. 

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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Last Chance To Visit Long Branch, Sayreville Recovery Centers

FEMA Provides Millions More to Restore the City of New Orleans’ Municipal Auditorium

NEW ORLEANS – The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city of New Orleans recently announced more than $3.5 million in additional recovery aid to restore the city’s Municipal Auditorium, which was damaged during Hurricane Katrina. 

As a component of the New Orleans Cultural Center, located alongside the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in Louis Armstrong Park, the Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Municipal Auditorium, as it’s formally called, served pre-Katrina as a public facility with a 6,000-seat capacity to host civic events.

“The Municipal Auditorium has been an important New Orleans landmark with a rich cultural history for decades,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “These federal recovery dollars are an encouraging step forward and will supplement the money FEMA has already allocated. We are making progress every day and will continue to work with FEMA to identify new eligible funding for this storm-damaged building so that we can one day get it back into commerce. FEMA continues to be an important partner in our recovery from Hurricane Katrina.”

In recovery partnership with the city of New Orleans, FEMA Public Assistance staffers recently re-evaluated the eligible damages at the Municipal Auditorium and determined the additional funding was necessary to support disaster-related roof damages not previously taken into account. Likewise, the current funding also covers determined architectural finishes that will require asbestos abatement and remediation of disaster-impacted lead-based paint.

“Regarding roof damages, FEMA’s earlier site visits were limited to visual observations of damages, but more recent investigations with the city included roof sampling and the use of technology-based moisture surveys to best identify Katrina’s overall impact,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Acting Executive Director

Andre Cadogan. “As a result, the total area of damaged roofing was increased to approximately 110,000 square feet, which FEMA’s most recent funding encompasses.”   

FEMA’s previous funding addressed architectural damages in the Municipal Auditorium’s basement through fifth floors, excluding damages attributed to mold, asbestos and lead paint.

“In order for the city to move forward safely with these repairs, recent site investigations also focused on identifying architectural areas where damage to lead-based paint and asbestos materials had occurred. These findings are now represented in our recent grant and will enable the city to move this recovery project along as needed,” added Cadogan.

To date, FEMA has obligated approximately $6.4 billion in public assistance funding for Katrina and Rita related recovery work throughout the city of New Orleans.

Editors: For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/latro.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femalro, blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.      

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed. 

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

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.

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FEMA Provides Millions More to Restore the City of New Orleans’ Municipal Auditorium

FEMA Dollars Continue to Support New Orleans’ Katrina Recovery

NEW ORLEANS – The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city of New Orleans recently announced additional Katrina-related grants totaling nearly $7 million that will directly benefit two recovery projects within the city – the Joe Brown Center in New Orleans East and the Municipal Yacht Harbor on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.     

“These federal dollars will supplement important repairs going on at Joe Brown Center and the Municipal Yacht Harbor,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “We are making progress every day and will continue to work with FEMA to identify new eligible funding for storm-damaged buildings and infrastructure. FEMA continues to be an important partner in our recovery from Hurricane Katrina.”

“The great thing about these grants is that they support publically recognizable facilities, since both serve various recreational needs in New Orleans,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Deputy Director of Programs Andre Cadogan. “These are projects that, once fully complete, locals will greatly utilize and note as yet another sign of Louisiana’s progress on her path toward full recovery.”  

Of FEMA’s latest funding, $1.7 million was provided for recently determined eligible damages at the Joe Brown Center, a popular, pre-Katrina recreational facility. This grant brings FEMA’s total support for recovery efforts at the Joe Brown Center to $3.3 million, and it includes the following work:

  • Removal and replacement of flood-damaged sidewalks throughout the facility; countertops and millwork in the center’s office; storefront entrance; doors and frames; tile floors; and
  • Repairs to moisture-damaged bleachers in the main facility area and to damaged windows and skylights.

“We know the city is excited to soon open the Joe Brown Center again for public use, and we are pleased with our steadfast recovery partnership that has led to us working side-by-side with the city to ensure all eligible FEMA dollars, such as these, are provided for such important work,” added Cadogan.

FEMA’s remaining funding, $5.3 million of the $7 million, was provided for the New Orleans’ Municipal Yacht Harbor, a marina docking area that provides secure anchoring for both recreational and commercial boats. The harbor facility was significantly damaged during the storm, necessitating FEMA’s current level of support, which now totals $10.1 million.

FEMA’s most recent grant for the harbor captures scope of work updates and revised estimated project costs to repair the following sites at the facility: concrete piers and pile caps, finger and end piers, fender system, timber mooring piles, watchman’s offices and restrooms, safety equipment, Pier 9 replacement, eastern bulkhead, and the electrical and mechanical distribution systems to the individual boat slips.

To date, FEMA has obligated approximately $6.4 billion in public assistance funding for Katrina and Rita related recovery work throughout the city of New Orleans.

Editors: For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/latro.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femalro, blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.      

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

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.

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FEMA Dollars Continue to Support New Orleans’ Katrina Recovery