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One Year Later: New Jersey Private Sector Gets Down to Business with Sandy Recovery

LINCROFT, N.J. – The devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy left survivors and businesses in New Jersey with large-scale recovery needs. Throughout the year, the state’s private sector has made significant contributions to the recovery process and continues to play a key role.

More than 600 businesses, utility companies, banks, insurance companies, colleges and universities, and professional organizations stood with local, state and federal agencies, voluntary agencies and faith-based organizations to strengthen the recovery efforts.

They disseminated information about disaster assistance to 7.2 million New Jersey residents through bill inserts, newsletters, signage and other means.

“One fast-food chain, which asked to remain anonymous, distributed 7,000 sandwiches with disaster-assistance information at 32 distribution points in three counties,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “That’s just one example of how essential the private sector is to a strong recovery effort.”

Immediately after Sandy struck, specialists with FEMA’s Private Sector Division in External Affairs deployed to New Jersey to work with chambers of commerce, industry associations, individual companies, colleges and universities and other organizations.

Response was immediate. Utility companies inserted messages in billing statements, reaching 3.3 million customers. The South Jersey Transportation Authority featured registration information on its Vehicle Messaging Systems at toll plazas, and the ticker messaging system on its website, reaching an estimated 2.9 million people a month.

Chambers, associations and businesses shared FEMA’s electronic newsletter (the E-News Update) for the private sector stakeholders with their memberships and contacts. The access to recovery information proved invaluable to their members and had far-reaching effects.

“To have the opportunity to interact directly with representatives, ask questions and get answers has helped not only members, but their clients as well,” said New Jersey Association of Realtors Chief Executive Officer Jarrod Grasso. “The recovery process in the aftermath of Sandy has not been easy, but getting the correct facts to our members has relieved a great deal of the uncertainty related to flood maps, insurance and elevation that so many New Jersey residents felt.”

Two FEMA program areas, Private Sector and the Federal Disaster Recovery Coordination group, facilitated an Insurance Industry Roundtable. The resulting public-private partnership engaged the insurance industry in a series of four meetings to explore how to enhance and expedite the disaster assistance process. A roundtable work group identified issues impeding the process and then developed recommendations that were submitted to President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force.

The private sector reached out in more basic ways as well. Sometimes it was as simple as offering a space to work. Operation Photo Rescue, a nonprofit organization of volunteer photojournalists from around the country, wanted to help Sandy survivors restore treasured photos. The organization began helping disaster survivors during Hurricane Katrina recovery. Volunteers need to set up a temporary shop close enough for survivors to access the free services.

“Finding a place for us to host our copy run was turning into a major problem as we could not secure a building close enough to where Sandy hit,” said Operation Photo Rescue President Margie Hayes. “We were coming up empty handed until Chris Spyridon, regional pro sales manager for Home Depot, offered us space at a Home Depot in Seaside Heights.”

The business of recovery is long-term, and an important part of that is preparedness, which not only helps individuals survive a disaster but can help businesses endure as well. FEMA’s Private Sector specialists have covered the state to help executives and officials understand the need for a continuity plan so work continues once the emergency is over. Montclair State University recorded FEMA’s preparedness webinar to share with all of New Jersey’s colleges and universities.

Amy Ferdinand, the university’s director of Environmental Health and Safety, said, “With the recent trend of ever-increasing disasters – whether natural or manmade – being the ‘new normal,’ there is a definite need among business leaders and stakeholders to become better informed on the topic of continuity and business planning.”

Video-links: Partnering for Preparedness, Jenkinson’s Aquarium Continuity Plan Works,
Serenity Spa Open for Business

Next in the One Year Later series: the role of Environmental and Historic Preservation in disaster recovery.

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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One Year Later: New Jersey Private Sector Gets Down to Business with Sandy Recovery

One Year Later: Mitigation Technique Applied 30 Years Ago Survived Sandy

LINCROFT, N.J. — The devastation Superstorm Sandy left behind changed the face of many New Jersey communities, perhaps none more so than along the Shore. With individual homes and businesses and even whole communities swept away, many people were left wondering if it’s even possible to live at the Shore.

But also along the Shore are homes that stand like lone sentinels, a testament to mitigation techniques that make structures stronger and safer. Mitigation construction practices such as elevation, berms and use of damage-resistant materials help reduce the risk of future damage. More and more, buildings throughout the country, and along the Shore, are constructed with these techniques.

Mantoloking, N.J., Nov. 5, 2012 — A Mantoloking home appears to be on its own island as Hurricane Sandy isolated it and damaged infrastructure and properties in the surrounding area. Before the storm came ashore last week, this was Route 528. Two new inlets were created as a result of the storm. Photo by Liz Roll/FEMA When Mantoloking resident Ed Wright built his home 30 years ago, he used a classic mitigation technique: elevation. Last October, that decision proved to be a good one. The storm surge from Sandy swept away five neighboring homes and left his standing alone at the end of the Mantoloking Bridge.

Wright had seen photos of debris washing down the street and elected to elevate the home rather than build on a standard foundation. He built it on 35- to 45-foot pilings sunk into the ground and later enclosed the ground level with breakaway walls, which are designed to collapse in flood waters.

Elevation is a tried-and-true mitigation technique. After a major disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency makes Hazard Mitigation grants available to the designated state for projects that reduce or eliminate losses from future disasters.

Projects eligible for hazard mitigation grants include retrofitting buildings to minimize damage from high winds and flooding; elevation of flood-prone buildings; minor flood-control projects; and the purchase of property at risk of repetitive flooding for conversion to open space. The state works with local communities to determine the focus of the Hazard Mitigation program.

Hazard Mitigation grants cover up to 75 percent of approved project costs. State and local governments pay the remaining 25 percent (in-kind donations of labor and materials can contribute toward this share). A project’s potential savings must be more than the cost of implementing the project.

Mantoloking, N.J., Oct. 11, 2013 — A Mantoloking home is completely restored one year after Hurricane Sandy. Through successful mitigation efforts years before, this home survived the floodwaters that destroyed many homes in the surrounding area with minimal damage. While the state sometimes pays for mitigation projects through FEMA grants after a disaster, Wright paid for his home’s elevation as part of the construction cost. It was an investment in the future.

The day after Sandy struck New Jersey, a friend called Wright to tell him his home was the only one standing. When he returned home, he didn’t know what to expect.

“We had no clue,” he said. “It was very emotional to see it standing there all by itself.”

The home experienced minimal damage, losing the furnace, air conditioning unit, washer and dryer, and vehicles.

“We’re very fortunate,” Wright said. “We’re very happy to be here.”

Property owners who are interested in the Hazard Mitigation programs available in New Jersey after Sandy should contact their local emergency management office.

Video-links: Elevation Helps a Home Survive Hurricane Sandy,
What To Do About Mold (in American Sign Language)

Next, the One Year Later series examines the ways in which New Jersey’s private sector got down to business to aid in the recovery process.

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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One Year Later: Mitigation Technique Applied 30 Years Ago Survived Sandy

One Year Later: Mitigation Efforts Paid Off For Highlands Restaurateurs

LINCROFT, N.J. — One month after Superstorm Sandy, Dan Shields and his business partner, Robert Higgins, were thanking their lucky stars.

Their waterfront restaurant, Windansea in Highlands, had withstood the raging flood tides and winds of Sandy with only relatively minor damage.

Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Oct. 10, 2013 — The Windansea restaurant withstood flood tides and winds with minimal damage from Hurricane Sandy. By renovating with FEMA’s building recommendations prior to Sandy, the restaurant was able to open shortly after storm. Rosanna Arias/FEMAThe rest of Highlands was not so fortunate. Flood waters had inundated dozens of homes and businesses in the low-lying sections of the borough. Debris littered the streets; a mobile home park on the north side of the borough was in shambles.

As flood waters receded in the business district, store owners had to reckon with the physical destruction of their businesses and the loss of their livelihoods.

Many of Shields’ and Higgins’ fellow restaurateurs were essentially out of business for the long term, faced with major damage from the storm.

What saved Windansea?

The borough’s new building code that required properties in flood zones to comply with tough new Federal Emergency Management standards. “We had to stick to ‘V’ zone construction,” said Shields, referring to the strictest standards for properties located in high-risk flood zones. “I felt like we were the poster child for FEMA.”

When the business partners bought the restaurant in 2000 for $690,000, they planned to invest approximately $300,000 in renovating the old restaurant, formerly known as Branin’s Wharf. But as work on the building progressed, hidden problems came to the surface. “It was just a terrible, terrible building.” Ultimately, more than 50 percent of the existing building had to be demolished. One day, as they worked on the restaurant, officials from FEMA and the borough drove up and told them to stop work. “You’ve got to do it our way,” they told the partners.

The structure would have to be rebuilt in compliance with FEMA standards for “V” zone construction, the strictest standard that applies to properties at high risk of flooding.

Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Oct. 10, 2013 — Hurricane Sandy damaged many businesses along the waterfront with floodwater and wind. The Windansea Restaurant received little damage because of mitigation measures taken prior to Hurricane Sandy. Rosanna Arias/FEMA To put it mildly, the partners were not happy. The shoestring budget they had assembled to pay for what they thought would be a fairly simple remodeling job wouldn’t cover the extensive construction that the town demanded. “It was a completely different animal from buying a little restaurant and (fixing it up),” Shields said.

Making the bayfront building flood-resistant required driving 80 pilings that measured 12 inches in diameter into the ground to a depth of 30 to 40 feet, reinforcing the roof and walls with steel rods and connecting the elements of the entire structure with steel plates and structural steel to hold the floor to the walls.

The project took a year longer than the partners anticipated and cost over $1 million more than they had originally budgeted.

“I felt like I was victimized,” Shields told the Asbury Park Press a few weeks after the storm, “like FEMA was trying to prove a point, trying to flex their muscles and trying to take it out on a little guy like me.”

He doesn’t feel that way anymore.

Though the building sustained some damage to its first floor lobbies and outdoor Tiki bar, Windansea was able to re-open less than three weeks after the storm. “There was not a crack in the sheetrock, not a thing out of place.”

Video-links: Avanti Linens Recovery and Mitigation Efforts, NJ Stronger Than The Storm Ribbon Cutting

Next, the One Year Later series examines the ways in which New Jersey’s private sector got down to business to aid in the recovery process.

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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One Year Later: Mitigation Efforts Paid Off For Highlands Restaurateurs

President Declares Disaster for Santa Clara Pueblo

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 Santa Clara Pueblo to supplement the tribe’s efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding during the period of September 13-16, 2013.

The President’s action makes federal funding available to the Santa Clara Pueblo and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work as a result of severe storms and flooding.

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

Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, 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 Santa Clara Pueblo

SBA’s Colorado Disaster Loans Pass $42 million

DENVER – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has now approved more than $42 million in disaster loans to Colorado homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations.

Approved loan totals in some of the most impacted areas are currently over $27 million in Boulder County, $4.9 million in Larimer County and $6 million in Weld County.

The more than $42 million approved so far to survivors with losses from Colorado storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides breaks down this way:

$37.5 million in loans to repair and rebuild homes
$4.8 million in business and economic injury loans

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available to small businesses having difficulty meeting obligations as a result of the September severe weather and floods, as well as private nonprofits, even if property was not physically damaged.

Deferred Disaster Loan Payments

The first payment for a disaster loan is due on the fifth month from the date of the loan closing.

The deadline to apply for a SBA disaster loan is November 14, 2013 for physical damage and June 16, 2014 for Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

A simple and fast way to complete the application is online, using the SBA’s electronic loan application. Go to DisasterLoan.SBA.gov/ELA.

SBA customer service representatives are available to answer questions, explain the application process, help individuals and businesses apply for a low-interest disaster loan and close their approved disaster loans at all Colorado/FEMA disaster recovery centers and SBA business recovery centers and Disaster Loan Outreach Centers. To locate the nearest center & hours, visit sba.gov/disaster or call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).

Register with FEMA by phone, 800-621-3362, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., MDT, seven days a week. Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA Helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages. People who have a speech disability or are deaf or hard of hearing may call (TTY) 800-462-7585; users of 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362.

To find the nearest disaster recovery center, check out the DRC locator at FEMA.gov/disaster-recovery-centers. Register online: DisasterAssistance.gov or by Web-enabled device, tablet or smartphone: type m.fema.gov in the browser.

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SBA’s Colorado Disaster Loans Pass $42 million

A Year After Hurricane Sandy, FEMA Individual Assistance Tops $1 Billion In New York

NEW YORK – When Hurricane Sandy made landfall a year ago on Oct. 29, the unprecedented storm surge and strong winds devastated tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

Amid widespread power outages and storm debris, New York survivors began asking where and how to begin putting their lives back together.

In anticipation of Sandy’s impact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed nearly 300 people to New York in advance of the hurricane to begin coordinating assistance for survivors. Within 48 hours of Sandy’s landfall, the figure swelled to 1,200. Eventually more than 4,000 workers were part of the federal response team.

Also within 48 hours, the first FEMA grants for New York individuals and households, totaling $1.7 million, were approved to help eligible survivors with home repairs, temporary rental costs and other uninsured hurricane-related expenses.

One year later, more than $1 billion has been approved for New Yorkers through FEMA’s Individuals and Households program to help them rebuild their lives. This is part of a total of more than $8.3 billion in disaster assistance that also includes more than $1.5 billion in low-interest U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans, more than $3.7 billion in flood insurance claim payments and more than $2.1 billion for debris removal, repair or replacement of public facilities and reimbursement for emergency expenses.

FEMA, in coordination with its local, state, federal, tribal, private sector, voluntary and faith-based partners, has been working nonstop with New York survivors to help them rebuild their lives. During the past year, more than 117,500 individuals and households in New York’s 13 designated counties were approved for assistance.

In the months after Hurricane Sandy, FEMA dispatched nearly 1,200 community relations specialists to devastated neighborhoods to determine survivors’ individual needs, and to help them navigate the FEMA application process and access other services.

More than 500 national, state and local voluntary and faith-based organizations helped people in need. They coordinated donations, volunteer management, home repair, child care, counseling services and removal of muck and mold from homes.

FEMA opened 65 disaster recovery centers, many of them located in hard-hit areas, where survivors received face-to-face help. There were more than 183,000 visits to the centers.

With thousands of New Yorkers displaced in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA worked with the state and city of New York to implement innovative programs to respond to the unique challenges posed by the shortage of rental housing in a densely populated, vertically built and linguistically diverse region.

Thanks to the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power program that was coordinated by local governments and funded by FEMA, more than 21,000 families were able to remain in their storm-damaged homes while repairs were made.

In addition, FEMA temporarily housed nearly 6,000 individuals and families in hotels and motels through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.

To ensure everyone received information, FEMA provided materials in 26 languages.

A year after the storm, all housing inspections – more than 185,000 – have been completed. Today more than 160 New Yorkers hired by FEMA to assist in recovery operations continue to help their communities rebuild from Sandy.

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A Year After Hurricane Sandy, FEMA Individual Assistance Tops $1 Billion In New York

A Year After Hurricane Sandy, More Than $2.1 Billion In FEMA Public Assistance Grants In New York Helps Clear Debris, Reopen Public Facilities

NEW YORK – More than $2.1 billion in federal aid has been approved to reimburse state, local and tribal governments for Sandy-related response and recovery efforts in New York one year after the devastating storm.

Public Assistance grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburse local, state and tribal governments and eligible private nonprofits for eligible costs of emergency response, debris removal and repairing or rebuilding damaged public facilities. In New York, more than 2,700 grants have been approved so far.

FEMA’s cost-share Public Assistance program reimburses 90 percent of eligible costs. The remaining 10 percent comes from nonfederal funds. The state forwards the federal reimbursement to the eligible local governments or organizations that incurred costs.

The largest single Public Assistance project to date is nearly $402 million to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for the Rapid Repairs program that allowed survivors to remain in their storm-damaged homes while repairs were made. The work also included infrastructure repairs at the Rockaway, North River and other wastewater treatment plants, pump stations, drinking water facilities and sewers.

Other major Public Assistance obligations include:

Nearly $325 million to the Long Island Power Authority for repairs to overhead lines and emergency work;

Nearly $180 million to New York University Langone Medical Center for emergency work, including the evacuation of more than 250 patients, the restoration of critical services and facilities, the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials and wastewater, debris and mold, repairs, and replacement of its information technology network.
$130 million to the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation for emergency work, cleanup, temporary relocation, repairs and replacement of contents at various HHC facilities, including Coney Island Hospital;

Nearly $128 million to the New York City Police Department for evacuations, search-and-rescue operations, distribution of critical equipment, door-to-door checks, the removal of fallen trees, traffic regulation and monitoring of fuel rationing during the gas shortage caused by Sandy;

More than $119 million to the New York City Department of Sanitation for debris removal;

Nearly $115 million to Nassau County for debris removal throughout the county;

Nearly $58 million to the state of New York Department of Transportation for debris removal;

More than $31 million to Long Beach for emergency work and repairs to waste water pump stations and fire hydrants;

More than $31 million to the town of Hempstead for debris removal and emergency work;

More than $13 million to the New York City Fire Department for coordinating more than 500 swift-water boat rescues, conducting more than 1,000 evacuations, extinguishing fires, searching 3,100 homes and businesses during Hurricane Sandy’s immediate aftermath, and temporary generators for Manhattan fire stations;

Nearly $7 million to Long Beach Public Schools for emergency protective measures and repairs at school and administrative facilities;

More than $2.1 million to Long Beach Memorial Nursing Home for emergency protective measures, demolition, cleanup and flood-related repairs.

To learn more about FEMA Public Assistance in New York, visit: fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit and dhses.ny.gov/oem/recovery.

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

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A Year After Hurricane Sandy, More Than $2.1 Billion In FEMA Public Assistance Grants In New York Helps Clear Debris, Reopen Public Facilities

FEMA and National Public Radio Work Together to Increase Emergency Alert Preparedness for People Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

WASHINGTON —The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced a cooperative pilot project with National Public Radio’s (NPR’s) technology research and development group, NPR Labs, to demonstrate the delivery of the first-ever, real-time emergency alert messages to people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in five Gulf states.

Twenty-five NPR-affiliated public radio stations throughout Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas agreed to participate in the pilot project to transmit emergency alert messages, such as weather alerts, to 475 individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the stations’ listening areas to determine how effectively the messages are being sent and received. The Gulf State region was selected for the demonstration because it is often subjected to extreme weather conditions. Individuals participating in the project will receive alert and warning messages through specially designed receivers capable of displaying the text messages.

“FEMA is committed to providing equal access to effective communication for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing as information must be accessible to be actionable,” said Damon Penn, Assistant Administrator for FEMA’s National Continuity Programs Directorate. “FEMA has been working with NPR’s technology research and development group to identify key resources and radio stations to demonstrate whether special receivers made exclusively for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing will help them receive emergency alerts. We hope the data and experiences gained from the demonstration will be used to help improve this specialized technology.”

The public radio stations participating in the pilot will receive emergency alert messages from FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), where the network operations center of the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) will uplink the warnings to the participating stations. The stations will then broadcast the emergency alerts to specially designed FM Radio Data System (RDS) radio receivers that alert the participants with a flashing indicator. The receivers can display the alert message through the receiver’s display, and the participants can connect a strobe light or bed-shaker alerting device to the receiver, helping ensure alerts are noticed day and night.

“This demonstration project is a crucial first step in improving the technology for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing during emergencies,” said Mike Starling, Executive Director, NPR Labs. “I want to sincerely thank the 25 stations for agreeing to participate in this demonstration project that is working to test the latest technology to ensure that all individuals, including those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, can be informed of emergencies when electricity, the Internet and other communications channels are unavailable.”

FEMA, designated by DHS to implement a U.S. public alert and warning system, established the IPAWS system to provide the President with a way to address the American people during a national emergency. FEMA has been working with numerous public and private industry stakeholders to ensure that emergency alerts can be delivered simultaneously through multiple communications pathways. The National Weather Service uses IPAWS to send Wireless Emergency Alerts to participating cell phone carriers, who sends the alerts to cell phones.

NPR manages the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS), which is the distribution network that delivers news, music, and specialized programming to public radio stations throughout the United States reaching 27 million listeners each week. The initiative is a joint effort with NPR Labs under a contract with DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate and FEMA’s National Continuity Programs. NPR Labs’ mission is to identify, evaluate, and advance the application of innovative technologies in support of the public service mission of NPR and its 900 member stations. NPR Labs was established in 2005 and is located at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C.

FM participating stations: Alabama:WUAL, Tuscaloosa; WBHM, Birmingham; WLRH, Huntsville; WJAB, Huntsville; Florida: WUSF, Tampa; WLRN, Miami; WPBI, West Palm Beach; WUFT, Gainesville; WMFE, Orlando; WFSU, Tallahassee; WGCU, Fort Meyers; WJCT, Jacksonville; WQCS, Fort Pierce; Louisiana: KDAQ, Shreveport; WWNO, New Orleans; WRKF, Baton Rouge; KRVS, Lafayette; in Mississippi: WMPN, Jackson; and in Texas: KERA, Dallas; KUHF, Houston; KETR, Commerce; KUT, Austin; KMBH, Harlingen; KEDT, Corpus Christi and KVLU, Beaumont.

For more information on FEMA programs, go to www.fema.gov/ipaws

FEMA does not endorse any non-government entities, organizations, or services. 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 and National Public Radio Work Together to Increase Emergency Alert Preparedness for People Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Federal Disaster Assistance Tops $16 Million in West, Texas

DENTON, Texas – Nearly six months after the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, local, state and federal personnel are working together to move the recovery efforts forward.

To date, federal disaster assistance for eligible survivors has topped $16 million. This includes more than $9 million in federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); nearly $840,000 in Individual Assistance grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and more than $6.2 million in FEMA Public Assistance funding.

“We continue to support our local and state partners as they assist survivors with rebuilding their communities and lives,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes. “We also encourage anyone who registered for disaster assistance but didn’t complete the process to contact us and get in the necessary paperwork. You may still be eligible to receive help.”

Applicants who registered before the June 18 deadline and have since settled with their insurance company should contact FEMA to determine if additional assistance is available. Applicants also can appeal any decision made by FEMA within 60 days of receipt of their notification letter.

Survivors with questions can contact FEMA at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. They may also call 1-800-621-3362 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585. Survivors who use 711 Relay or Video Relay Services may call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

The West Long-Term Recovery Committee also has numerous resources available to survivors. Visit www.westltr.org or call (254) 826-7550 for more information.

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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-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of funding for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).

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Federal Disaster Assistance Tops $16 Million in West, Texas

President Declares Major Disaster for Santa Clara Pueblo

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for the Santa Clara Pueblo and ordered federal aid to supplement the Tribe’s efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding during the period of July 19-21, 2013.

Federal funding is available for the Santa Clara Pueblo and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work as a result of the severe storms and flooding.

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

Nancy M. Casper has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area. Casper said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the Tribe and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts available at www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fema and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fema.

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President Declares Major Disaster for Santa Clara Pueblo

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