FEMA Registration Deadline Now 30 Days Away

WINDSOR, Conn. — Connecticut residents who had damage from Hurricane Sandy have only 30 days left to register for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The deadline to register for disaster assistance is Monday, Dec. 31.

Survivors can register online anytime day or night at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or with a smartphone or other Web-enabled device at m.fema.gov. Survivors can also register by phone anytime by calling FEMA at 800-621-3362. The TTY number is 800-462-7585. Multilingual operators are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Wait for the English message to finish to reach the multilingual operators.

Disaster assistance for homeowners and renters can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses not met by insurance or other assistance programs.

Low-interest disaster loans are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration to homeowners, renters, nonprofits and business of all sizes. SBA is the largest source of federal disaster funds for repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed property.

Returning an SBA application is essential to completing the application process and may open a door to additional forms of disaster assistance from FEMA. However, no applicant is obligated to accept a loan.

Registration for disaster assistance with another agency does not register an applicant with FEMA. Having flood insurance does not register policyholders for disaster assistance; flood insurance claims are handled separately.

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 a private nonprofit organization 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.

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FEMA Registration Deadline Now 30 Days Away

State, Local, Tribal Governments, Private Nonprofits Get 30 More Days to Request FEMA Public Assistance Grants

Deadlines extended to request reimbursement for debris removal, infrastructure repair and other costs

NEW YORK – Deadlines to apply for Public Assistance (PA) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have been extended for 30 days. Counties, municipalities and certain non-profits that provide essential services of a governmental nature may qualify for PA funding to help reimburse eligible costs for rebuilding infrastructure such as bridges, roads and public utilities.

The deadline for Requests for Public Assistance (RPA) is now extended from the original deadline which was 30 days after each county was designated as part of President Barack Obama’s Hurricane Sandy New York disaster declaration.

The extended deadlines are now:

Dec. 29, 2012: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Richmond, Suffolk and Queens
Jan. 2, 2013: Rockland and Westchester
Jan. 12, 2013: Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster

Michael F. Byrne, FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer, granted the extension following a request from the New York State Office of Emergency Management. The PA program provides for the reimbursement of 75 percent of eligible costs.

In the request for an extension, the state cited the unprecedented impact of Hurricane Sandy and the tremendous increase in the number of organizations submitting RPAs, many of which have never been involved in the PA process.

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.

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State, Local, Tribal Governments, Private Nonprofits Get 30 More Days to Request FEMA Public Assistance Grants

Low-Interest Disaster Loans Fuel Connecticut Recovery

WINDSOR, Conn. – Hurricane Sandy survivors are putting low-interest disaster loans to good use.

The loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are being used to:

• Make home repairs not covered by insurance;
• Replace clothing, appliances and vehicles;
• Make improvements to reduce the risk of future damage; and
• Refinance existing liens or mortgages on homes.

SBA loans are the major source of federal disaster recovery funding and may be available for other uses as well. For example, renters may be eligible for loans to cover some of their personal property losses, including vehicles. There are also loans for businesses and nonprofit organizations as well.

Applications from the SBA are mailed to most survivors who register for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Returning the loan application is an important step in the recovery process because it may qualify the applicant for more FEMA grants. No one is obligated to accept a loan, if offered.

“Even the maximum amount FEMA is allowed to award won’t replace a home destroyed in a hurricane,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Albert Lewis. “Most disaster recovery is funded by low-interest loans from the SBA.”

SBA can lend homeowners up to $200,000 to repair or replace their home and up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property.

Disaster loans have distinct advantages:
• Home loans are as low as 1.688 percent
• There are no points or application fees
• Loans are available before insurance settlements are made
• SBA can write loans based on the cost of replacing the home today

The deadline to file for an SBA Home Disaster Loan is Dec. 31.

SBA offers online application through its Electronic Loan Application site at https://DisasterLoan.SBA.gov/ela. Survivors can call the SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, or visit the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/sandy.

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.

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Low-Interest Disaster Loans Fuel Connecticut Recovery

Readout of FEMA Administrator Fugate’s visit to New York & New Jersey

WASHINGTON — Today, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate traveled to New York and New Jersey to meet with federal, state and local officials and to discuss ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy. During his visit, Administrator Fugate emphasized that communities in impacted states have the continued, full support of FEMA and the federal family.

In Freeport, NY, Administrator Fugate met with state and local officials to discuss recovery planning for Freeport and Nassau County and how federal programs can support local efforts. Following the meeting, Administrator Fugate surveyed damage in some of the county’s hardest hit areas.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, for designated counties in New York and New Jersey.

Administrator Fugate next traveled to New Jersey, where he visited the Middlesex County Emergency Operations Center and met with state and local officials to discuss recovery efforts, both in the county and throughout the state of New Jersey. At the Sayreville Water Pumping Station, Administrator Fugate was briefed on the impact of Sandy on the station and the emergency efforts undertaken during the storm to restore operations at the facility.

In both New York and New Jersey, Administrator Fugate reiterated FEMA’s continued support for communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy and encouraged impacted residents to register for federal assistance.

President Obama declared major disasters for New York and New Jersey on October 30, making federal assistance available to affected individuals and businesses. Impacted residents in designated counties can apply for assistance online at www.disasterassistance.gov, by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice.

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Readout of FEMA Administrator Fugate’s visit to New York & New Jersey

Approved Funds for New York State Hurricane Sandy Survivors Tops $700 Million

Main Content

Release date:

November 28, 2012

Release Number:

NR-059

NEW YORK — Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved more than $703 million to help individuals and families recover from the disaster.

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 $1.7 million
Kings $149.5 million
Nassau $234.8 million
New York $9.5 million
Queens $179.4 million
Richmond $73.9 million
Suffolk $51.1 million

FEMA provides the following snapshot of the disaster-recovery effort as of November 28:

More than 236,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance with FEMA and more than $703 million has been approved. More than 120,000 people have applied through the online application site at www.disasterassistance.gov, or on their smart phone at m.fema.gov.
34 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date more than 59,000 survivors have been assisted at DRCs in New York.
655 inspectors in the field have completed nearly 142,000 home inspections.
1,018 Community Relations (CR) specialists are strategically positioned throughout the affected communities, going door-to-door explaining the types of disaster assistance available and how to register. More teams continue to arrive daily.
7 fixed feeding sites are being operated by the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
1 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), 1 Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), 2 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. Theses 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 $42 million in disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses. The SBA has staff members at 19 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has assessed 740 regulated facilities such as landfills, power plants and chemical facilities for impacts from Hurricane Sandy.

Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via smart phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362. Multilingual telephone operators are available to help non-English-speaking survivors register for disaster aid and to get their questions answered.

Those with a speech disability or hearing loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; for 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

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

Last Updated:

November 28, 2012 – 16:54

State or Region:

New York

Related Disaster:

New York Hurricane Sandy

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Approved Funds for New York State Hurricane Sandy Survivors Tops $700 Million

President Declares Disaster for New Hampshire

PRESIDENT DECLARES DISASTER FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of New Hampshire to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Hurricane Sandy during the period of October 26 to November 8, 2012.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Grafton, and Sullivan counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

James N. Russo has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Russo said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Follow FEMA online at 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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President Declares Disaster for New Hampshire

FEMA Obligates $3.2 Million to St. John Parish Schools for Classrooms and Cleanup

BATON ROUGE, La. – Two grants totaling $3.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help St. John Parish schools recover from Hurricane Isaac, FEMA has announced.

After the late August storm’s flooding severely damaged most of the buildings at the East St. John High School campus in Reserve, the district relocated most students to temporary classrooms at the nearby Leon Godchaux Academy campus.

But without enough classroom space at the academy, students are attending school daily in two, five-hour shifts this semester. On that limited schedule, the 2012-2013 academic year would extend through next summer and into September in order for students to get the required annual instructional time.

FEMA’s $1.4 million grant will provide additional modular classroom units for high school students. More class time is expected to be scheduled each day beginning in January. The school year then may end in July.

“Getting closer to the regular academic calendar is an important part of recovery for the St. John district and community,” said FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer Gerard M. Stolar. “These funds will help the district recover costs for adding the temporary classroom space that will help students stay on schedule.”

FEMA’s second grant for $1.8 million will help pay cleanup costs at the damaged high school campus and at Lake Pontchartrain Elementary School in LaPlace. Both schools sustained extensive flooding during the storm.

The FEMA grants will pay the federal share of the St. John school district’s eligible costs for the work. Under a cost-sharing formula, FEMA reimburses the state for 75 percent of the total costs, while the state and/or applicant cover the remaining 25 percent.

Once FEMA pays the funds to the state of Louisiana, their management, including disbursement to local school districts and organizations performing services, is the responsibility of the state. The obligated funds are a portion of nearly $121.8 million in total Public Assistance recovery funds obligated to the state since the Aug. 29 declaration for Hurricane Isaac.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

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 us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/femaregion6, the R6 Hurricane Preparedness website at www.fema.gov/about/regions/regionvi/updates.shtm and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

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FEMA Obligates $3.2 Million to St. John Parish Schools for Classrooms and Cleanup

FEMA Working to Increase Assistance for Hurricane Survivors in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. — More than $530,000 in additional disaster assistance is getting to Hurricane Isaac survivors as the result of an initiative launched by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Louisiana.

Under the initiative, 3,904 storm survivors are getting follow-up phone calls and even some home visits from a team of FEMA outreach liaisons. They are helping applicants with the appeal process, explaining letters they may have received from FEMA and assisting applicants with gathering the documentation needed for their claims.

So far, outreach specialists have helped survivors obtain more than $174,000 in Rental Assistance and nearly $358,000 in Housing Assistance.

Since Hurricane Isaac roared ashore in late August, the state and FEMA have approved more than $117 million in grants for eligible individuals and families in Louisiana. The grants are for temporary housing, home repair and reconstruction, and for other needs, including personal property replacement or disaster-related medical and dental expenses. The total includes more than $530,000 in assistance resulting from the outreach initiative.

“With this proactive approach we’re reducing the number of survivors determined ineligible for federal assistance because of incomplete or missing information,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gerard M. Stolar of FEMA. “The recovery process is stressful for those who suffered great losses, and we want to make sure all survivors get the maximum grant they are eligible to receive.”

“Another benefit of survivor outreach is that FEMA can more quickly close cases and thus get survivors referred to long-term recovery committees to assist them with any unmet needs,” said Susan Tompkins, head of FEMA’s Individual Assistance branch for the hurricane recovery mission. “This helps speed the pace of recovery for everyone.”

The outreach effort will continue until FEMA contacts all eligible survivors in the parishes, Tompkins said.

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FEMA Working to Increase Assistance for Hurricane Survivors in Louisiana

FEMA Urges Quick Filing of Insurance Claims

NEW YORK – Property owners who sustained flood damages and are insured by policies underwritten by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are strongly urged to file claims immediately.

“The faster the claim is filed, the sooner the settlement process can begin,” said David Passey of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. “Individuals start the claim process by calling their insurance agent or company.”

The policyholder should provide the name of the issuing agent or company, the policy number and a phone number or email address where he or she can be reached, Passey said. After filing a claim, an adjuster will contact the policyholder within a few days to schedule an appointment for the initial inspection.

A “Proof of Loss” statement is required, which includes the detailed estimates of the cost to repair or replace damaged property. In most cases, the adjuster will provide a suggested Proof of Loss, but the ultimate responsibility for making sure the document is complete, accurate and filed on time is with the policyholder.

Should further damage be discovered after the adjuster has made an inspection, policyholders can file a supplemental claim.

“It is a good idea to separate damaged items from those that are OK,” Passey said. “And if possible, take lots of photographs of water in the property and things that are damaged. In case you are required to dispose of certain things, the photos will provide a record of what was ruined and removed.”

FEMA National Flood Insurance Program representatives can be reached at 800-427-4661 should policyholders have questions that cannot be answered by agents. More information is available at www.floodsmart.gov.

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FEMA Urges Quick Filing of Insurance Claims

President Declares Disaster for Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Alaska to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe storm, straight-line winds, flooding, and landslides during the period of September 15-30, 2012.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to state and eligible tribal and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm, straight-line winds, flooding, and landslides in the areas of Alaska Gateway Rural Educational Attendance Area (REAA), Chugach REAA, Denali Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, and the Matanuska Susitna Borough.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Kenneth K. Suiso has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Suiso said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Follow FEMA online at 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.

President Declares Disaster for Alaska

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