U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management
Agency
Intergovernmental Affairs
Division
Telephone
202-646-3444
Intergovernmental Affairs
Advisory
November 10,
2012
Federal Family and Partners
Continue to Support States Impacted by Sandy
More than $411 million in
Individual Assistance Approved for Disaster Survivors
WASHINGTON -- At the direction of President Barack
Obama, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to lead the
federal government's effort to provide assistance and support to states affected
by Hurricane Sandy, ensuring the federal family and its public and private
partners continue to provide all available resources to support state, local,
and tribal communities in affected areas. The Administration's top priority
remains supporting states, tribes and communities, as response efforts
continue.
As
FEMA and its partners continue an aggressive power restoration effort, the
President has approved an extension to the 100 percent cost share for emergency
work performed by state, tribal and local governments through November 14, 2012.
The 100 percent funding was set originally to last ten days, starting October 31
and specifically applies to work executed to restore emergency power and
emergency public transportation assistance, including direct federal assistance
for New Jersey, New York and Connecticut counties designated for FEMA Public
Assistance. Other forms of Category B (emergency work) public assistance remain
at a 75 percent cost share.
The
federal family continues to work to assist with power restorations and to
address fuel shortages. The Department of Defense (DoD), Department of
Transportation (DOT), Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
representatives from the private sector and local law enforcement remain
committed to supporting state and local governments in these efforts. The
federal government has provided hundreds of generators and millions of gallons
of fuel to help critical infrastructure sites and fuel stations operate until
full power is restored.
TheU.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USACE) continues to aggressively support a de-watering
mission at the direction of FEMA. Teams remain in place at critical areas in New
Jersey and New York and pumping operations in 12 of the 14 critical locations as
identified by local officials has been completed. The pumping in the Jersey City
PATH Train Tunnel and Passaic Valley Waste Water Treatment Plant are estimated
to be completed this weekend. Additional USACE teams are in both New Jersey and
New York clearing debris and providing technical assistance personnel to support
emergency power operations.
FEMA is one part of a large team that is working
together to support the states in meeting needs of disaster survivors. As
extensive work continues to restore power, open roadways and remove debris so
that homes can begin to be repaired or rebuilt, individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the
designated counties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut can apply for
assistance 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 will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further
notice. Those in affected areas with access to the internet may register by web
enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov, or online at www.disasterassistance.gov.
"FEMA's focus remains on helping the survivors of
Hurricane Sandy in a number of different ways," said FEMA Administrator Craig
Fugate. "In addition to registering for disaster assistance online at www.disasterassistance.gov or by calling
1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362), Disaster Unemployment Assistance and free legal
services are also now available to eligible survivors in New Jersey and New
York."
Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance has been
activated for both New Jersey and New York for those whose jobs were impacted by
the hurricane in counties designated for FEMA Individual Assistance. This may
include people not normally eligible for unemployment benefits such as the
self-employed and those unable to provide their services because of Hurricane
Sandy. Free legal services are also available. This includes legal advice,
counseling and representation, may be provided to low-income disaster victims
through an agreement with the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar
Association. Services typically provided include assistance with insurance
claims (life, medical, property); counseling on landlord/tenant problems;
assisting in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures; and
replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in a major
disaster.
As of 3 p.m., more than 356,000 individuals in
Connecticut, New York and New Jersey have registered for assistance, and more
than $411 million has been approved in FEMA housing and other needs assistance.
Currently 44 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut. Of that amount, 21 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in New York,
16 in New Jersey and seven in Connecticut and more continue to open. To find a
disaster recovery center location, check out the disaster recovery center
locator at FEMA.gov/disaster-recovery-centers or by
mobile phone at m.fema.gov. You may also text DRC
and a Zip Code to 43362 (4FEMA).
FEMA has more than 6,600 FEMA personnel deployed to
support response and recovery operations and is actively taking registration
information through our 24 hour call centers. Many residents may be asking
themselves what's next after they register for FEMA assistance. During
registration, applicants will be given a personal number that should be kept
handy for future use. Often times, a housing inspection is needed and one of the
1,987 FEMA Housing Inspectors on the ground will make contact to schedule an
appointment to come see the damaged property if it is accessible. Appointments
generally take 30-40 minutes and include an inspection of damaged areas of your
home and review of your records. There is no fee for the inspection and
inspectors always have proper identification.
To
date, the President has declared that major disasters exist in Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island and emergency declarations have been made in
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West
Virginia. FEMA continues to deliver commodities including food, water, blankets,
generators and others resources to distribution points across the region
impacted by Sandy.
In
addition, a snapshot of some of the federal activities that are being
coordinated:
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that businesses with
physical damages or loss of revenue should consider visiting a Business Recover
Center and applying for an SBA disaster business loan. The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to
small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses
engaged in aquaculture, and most private non-profit organizations, to help meet working capital needs caused by the
disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether
the business suffered any physical property damage. SBA continues to
operate several Business Recovery Centers in New York and New Jersey. As of
November 10, the SBA has issued 248,094 disaster loan applications to residents
and businesses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. That includes 196,822
home disaster loan applications, and 51,272 business disaster loan
applications. SBA continues to operate Business Recovery Centers in New York
and New Jersey. For more information, call the SBA Customer Service Center at
800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the
deaf and hard-of-hearing) or go to
www.sba.gov.
The
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has more than 1,100
HHS personnel deployed to provide public health and medical assistance to New
York and New Jersey. These personnel include disaster medical assistance teams
(DMATs). DMATs are a group of professional medical personnel organized to
provide rapid-response medical care. To read more about DMAT teams active in the
Hurricane Sandy response visit: www.phe.gov/asprblog. The U.S. Public
Health Service Commissioned Corps also continues to support shelter
operations. Nearly 60 officers from three Mental Health Teams have assisted
approximately 700 residents and first responders a day, helping address basic
mental health issues and facilitating environmental interventions in shelters
such as ensuring that lights were off or low in a shelter at a sufficient time
for people to sleep, arranging structured activities for children and adults,
limiting access to sugary/caffeinated items by children after supper so that
they are better able to sleep. These types of basic issues are increase people's
resilience in difficult circumstances.
The
Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
announced special relief intended to support leave-based donation programs to
aid survivors who have suffered from the extraordinary destruction caused by
Hurricane Sandy. Under these programs, employees may donate their vacation, sick
or personal leave in exchange for employer cash payments made to qualified
tax-exempt organizations providing relief for the survivors of Hurricane Sandy.
Also, the Treasury Department and the IRS announced an expedited review and
approval process will be offered for organizations seeking tax-exempt status in
order to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The IRS continues to
encourage people to use existing organizations currently working on immediate
aid efforts.
The Department of Energy (DOE) in response to a
request from the State of Connecticut, the will be loaning an additional 4.2
million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel from the Northeast Home Heating
Oil Reserve to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), to provide emergency loans to
fuel distributors in Connecticut to address fuel shortages in the state. This is
a continuation of the agreement announced a week ago when President Obama
declared that Hurricane Sandy has created a severe energy supply interruption.
The fuel will then be provided to fuel distributors in the state and will be
repaid in the next 30 days by the distributors directly. DOE and DLA stand ready
to make available additional fuel as needed.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is a fully
integrated partner in the federal, state, tribal, and local response to
Hurricane Sandy and the northeaster that swept through the mid-Atlantic and
northeastern United States.
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) has nearly 4,000 personnel supporting
Hurricane Sandy relief operations in the affected area.
Air Force teams
completed unwatering (removing water) operations at Rockaway Waste Water
Treatment facility, and East School in Long Beach, N.Y., and provided teams to
support fire departments conducting unwatering operations in Breezy Point,
N.Y. Army divers repaired the pier system at Caven Point, N.J. Also,
divers continue to assist the New York City Fire Department unwater the PATH
Tunnel at the World Trade Center and unwater the Long Beach High School and
Recreation Center. Navy dive detachments continue to support the World
Trade Center site and Marine pump teams are assisting pumping operations
at Breezy Point. Helicopters from the 26th Marine Expeditionary
Unit are transporting and re-locating generators in affected areas to
support critical infrastructure. Navy Seabees and Marine
personnel restored the beach at Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook and continue
supporting debris clearance operations at locations in Bayonne, N.J. and the
Battery, N.Y.
The Defense Logistics Agency continues to supply
FEMA with much needed emergency supplies, medical equipment, fuel and now cold
and wet weather clothing to help those working toward recovery after Hurricane
Sandy. DLA has delivered more than 1.8 million gallons of fuel to federal
government distribution points in the New York/New Jersey region. DLA delivered
nine generators to the Army Corps of Engineers to power apartment buildings in
New York City. Seven more generators and seven transformers are en route. They
also provided seven additional generators to the New York City Housing
Authority. DLA has contracts in place to support waste water clean-up, hazardous
material removal, and debris removal operations. DLA has also awarded two
contracts for 330 roll-off dumpsters and 34 trucks for overland trash hauling.
2.5 million pounds of debris have been removed in the last 48
hours.
The
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has more than 3000 employees from the
North Atlantic Division with an additional 960 team members deployed from other
USACE divisions across the Nation engaged to support the response mission.
Response teams are assisting with debris management, commodities distribution,
infrastructure assessment, temporary roofing, critical public facilities, water
planning, and temporary housing. USACE has established Recovery Field Offices in
New York and New Jersey to support FEMA and recovery
operations.
The National Guard continues to work to expedite
recovery efforts. More than 6,200 Army and Air National Guard Soldiers and
Airmen from 11 states are conducting food, water, and fuel distribution,
communications, security, sheltering, debris removal and transportation missions
in support of recovery efforts.
The
U.S. Fleet Forces (Navy & Marine Corps) are assisting the Army Corps
of Engineers in their power restoration, cleaning and dewatering efforts in NY
and NJ.
The United State Postal Service (USPS) wants to
remind customers who have evacuated or relocated due to hurricane Sandy to submit a change of address, place mail on
hold or request that mail be temporarily forwarded to their new location. For
the latest service updates regarding hurricane Sandy, call 1-800-ASK-USPS
(1-800-275-8777).
U.S. Department
of Agriculture's (USDA's) Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) has distributed
an initial $5.3 million to 11 states affected by Hurricane Sandy. NRCS provides
this funding through its Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP)
program.
USDA's Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) is allowing
flexibility to New York City Public School District to serve all meals free
through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for the
month of November. FNS has also approved New Jersey's request to allow
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- formerly Food Stamps)
recipients that reside in Atlantic County, Bergen County, Cape May County, Essex
County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Somerset
County and Union County,( all of which have received individual assistance
declarations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to be allowed
to purchase hot foods and hot food products with SNAP benefits through the end
of the month.
The
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has 1008
national service members who have been deployed to seven states. AmeriCorps and
Senior Corps members in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia are assisting with shelter
operations, call centers, debris removal, and mass care. About 435 members of
FEMA Corps, an innovative partnership between FEMA and AmeriCorps, are working
directly with disaster survivors in New York and New Jersey.
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminds consumers to take precautions
for storing water and ensuring the safety of their food and medical supplies for
themselves, their families, and their pets during and after any
hurricane-related rain, possible flooding and power outages. For food and drug
safety messaging, visit the Food and Drug Administration hurricane safety
checklist, available in English and Spanish (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm317232.htm).
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
mobilized resources to speed storm recovery on Federal and tribal lands in the
impacted region and to support FEMA in its efforts to assist states and local
governments in the disaster area, including nearly 700 DOI employees conducting
response and recovery missions and at least an equal number are committed to
disaster recovery work in at their home locations. More than 1,200 wildland
firefighters from all agencies, including about 260 wildland firefighters from
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Park service are responding with fellow wildland
firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and State Forestry Divisions to
support FEMA staging areas, assist in emergency operations centers, and provide
crews to clear trees for emergency access and power crews.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is leading a
Tribal Assistance Coordination Group, enhancing communications and coordination
between Native American Tribes in the disaster area, other Federal agencies
including FEMA, and non-profit relief organizations.
The National Park Service (NPS) has deployed more
than 300 incident management personnel, technical experts and work crews to
assist almost 650 personnel at parks throughout the region in recovery
operations. Working with interagency partners, NPS has also established a
debris transfer site at Jacob Riis Park in New York to support local clean-up
activities and is providing feeding for emergency workers in the vicinity of its
logistics base at Fort Wadsworth in the Gateway National Recreation Area.
If
you have any questions, please contact FEMA’s Intergovernmental Affairs Division
at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov.
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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