Federal disaster aid funneled into New York to help repair damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee will total more than $1.3 billion, according to new projections from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and New York state officials.
FEMA has already reimbursed $32.2 million in funding to help repair roads, bridges, utilities, schools, and public facilities. The agency expects to eventually provide funding for about 13,000 repair projects in 37 counties.
“These were huge storms which caused unprecedented damage to communities across the state,” FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Philip E. Parr said in a news release. “FEMA continues to work aggressively to help these communities rebuild.”
The agency still has three Long-Term Community Recovery teams working in Broome, Delaware, Greene, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Tioga counties. Those teams attempt to identify unmet needs and help develop community recovery plans.
A total of 495 FEMA employees are working on recovery efforts. That is down from 895 last year when efforts were most intense.
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