In the one month since President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in New York for Hurricane Sandy, the federal government has contributed more than $1 billion to help New Yorkers, their communities and the state with disaster-related needs, as well as assigning equipment and supplies, and deploying thousands of people to assist in the response and recovery from the storm.
“FEMA and our federal and state partners are committed to the recovery and rebuilding of New York,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael Byrne. “We will remain on the ground until the job is finished. We’ve been on it, and we’re staying on it.”
Here’s a breakdown by the numbers in the first 30 days:
- FEMA has provided more than $714 million to assist individuals and families repair damaged homes, find temporary housing and assist with expenses such as medical and dental bills.
- FEMA continues to assist survivors at 36 Disaster Recovery Centers, where more than 64,000 storm survivors have met face-to-face with disaster assistance experts.
- Nearly 1,300 FEMA community relations specialists have met with more than 73,000 storm survivors while going door-to-door.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration has staff members at 19 Business Recovery Centers and has approved more than $57 million in disaster loans to both individuals and businesses.
- The Department of Health and Human Services approved more than $8.2 million in grants for behavioral health support and deployed more than 1,100 personnel.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided approximately 1.1 million pounds of food for distribution to affected households and issued additional Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
- The U.S. Forest Service mobilized 1,100 personnel to assist with tree clearing and disaster assistance.
- A total of 1.4 million cubic yards of storm debris has been removed, including 409,429 cubic yards disposed of by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which also has drained more than 270 million gallons of salt water from tunnels, underpasses and other areas throughout New York City.
- The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $27 million through its National Emergency Grant funds to the New York Department of Labor to assist with the restoration of public lands, infrastructure, and to assist with cleanup and recovery.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation approved $10 million in quick-release emergency relief funds to New York for a variety of immediate repairs to roads, bridges and tunnels.
- The New York National Guard deployed almost 4,000 troops and fueled more than 13,000 city vehicles while visiting more than 16,000 homes and apartments to check on residents.
More information is available in the newsroom and on this blog post from Federal Coordinating Officer Mike Byrne.