Federal aid to New Jersey following Sandy reaches $5.3 billion

Federal assistance to New Jersey following Superstorm Sandy reached $5.3 billion as of July 22, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reported, while this week, disaster declarations have been made following storms and flooding in two states.

Payments made as part of the National Flood Insurance Program have reached $3.5 billion, while $408.1 million in grants have been disbursed for housing assistance and other needs.

The agency also reported:

• $805.8 in U.S.  small business administration disaster loans approved for homeowners, renters and businesses

• $678.9 million approved in FEMA Public Assistance grants to state agencies, local communities and certain private nonprofit organizations that serve the public

• 261,872 people contacted FEMA for help or information

• 126,837 housing inspections completed

Meanwhile, this week FEMA also reported that aid would be made available for West Virginia and Minnesota, which have both received disaster declarations following severe storms and flooding in June.

The declarations make 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 the severe weather events.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide for both states, FEMA said.

FEMA extends incident period for Boston bombings

Also this week, FEMA announced it has extended the incident period for which agencies can claim federal reimbursement for part of their expenses following the Boston Marathon bombings.

In April, U.S. president Barack Obama authorized FEMA to reimburse government and some private non-profit entities in Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk and Suffolk counties in Massachusetts for part of their bombing related expenses incurred from April 15 to 22. That period has now been extended to end on April 26, FEMA said.

That extension came at the request of the state’s governor, Deval Patrick.

“Many agencies continued to incur emergency response expenses for a number of days after the April 15 bombing,”Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency noted in a statement.

“FEMA’s extension of the incident period is a welcome support for our police departments, hospitals and other agencies that kept Boston strong during a challenging time.”

FEMA has received requests for assistance with bombing expenses from 51 different applicants, including police and fire departments, hospitals and universities.

FEMA’s Public Assistance program reimburses 75% of applicants’ eligible costs.