Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The action comes nearly a week after the governor predicted FEMA will scale back tough new flood maps it issued last December
The Christie administration has taken another step toward supporting new statewide elevation standards based on Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps. On Monday, the administration filed with the Office of Administrative Law an adoption package supporting the standards. The action comes nearly a week after Christie predicted FEMA will scale back tough new flood maps it issued last December. Those maps place a large amount of properties in flood zones, and require many structures to be elevated if their owners don't want to see flood insurance rates spike. The initial FEMA flood maps, which could create thousands more in insurance premiums and have residents raising their houses feet off the ground, are "too aggressive," said Gov. …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Freeholder says county receives notice of first check for $1.5 million.
An Essex County freeholder said the county received the first federal government check to reimburse it for Superstorm Sandy costs, according to a Montclair Times report Friday. Freeholder Brendan Gill, who represents Montclair, said the county has received notice of a $1.5-million payment coming from Washington, D.C. "It's a big win for the county," Gill told the paper. "It's the first step with what will be a series (of payments)." The $1.5 million will be used to reimburse the county for costs in the wake of Sandy, which struck the area in late October and early November last year, Essex County Administrator Ralph J. Ciallella said. Those expenditures include the removal of debris from county parks and roads, repairs to county buildings…
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Extension prompted by a request from New Jersey officials.
The deadline to register for disaster assistance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has been extended to March 1, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said Friday. The registration, which was supposed to end Wednesday, Jan. 30, was extended to give storm survivors another month to register with the agency for federal aid, according to an NJ.com report last week. The extension was prompted by a request from New Jersey officials, according to FEMA. More than 57,500 New Jersey residents so far have been approved for help through FEMA’s individual assistance program, the report said.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Verona Police are reminding residents through NIXLE alerts to apply for Hurricane Sandy damage by cutoff date.
Verona Police are reminding residents that the deadline to apply for FEMA disaster assistance from Hurricane Sandy is on January 30. As Hurricane Sandy swept through Verona and Cedar Grove, falling trees took down telephone poles, blocked streets and left live wires dangling just about everywhere. Trees crushed cars, fences, roofs and damaged countless properties. All residents affected by Sandy must apply by January 30. The township is reminding residents of the approaching deadline through NIXLE alerts and information posted on the township website. FEMA reminds those applying to have the following information ready: Click here for more information or to apply for disaster assistance.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
As residents remain anxious in the aftermath of Sandy, the agency says it is offering tips and information about mitigation.
Navigating her way through the piles of paperwork, through meetings with contractors and the near never-ending stream of advice coming at her from every direction is a new experience for Jacqueline Capestro. Then again, so was watching ocean water surge down the street and into her home. For the 22 years she’s lived there, Capestro had never once seen her Bradley Beach home flood. When she returned following Hurricane Sandy to assess the damage she found her floorboards buckled, the furniture destroyed, and a flood line on the wall three feet from the floor. After initial shock slowly shifted to resolve, Capestro was left without an answer to one very important question: What now? In Capestro’s case, and in the case of many New Jersey’s …
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Panel will conduct family income surveys to mark areas that qualify for the Community Development Block Grant program to avoid using local tax dollars.
At the Verona Township Council meeting Monday night, the council discussed possible road projects it should submit for its yearly Community Development Block Grant. The grants provide the township with federal money for various street improvements. However, Congress has dramatically cut funding for the program and made qualifying criteria more difficult over the years, said Verona Township Engineer Jim Helb. “We are revisiting some areas that we had done many years ago and readdressing some of those areas because they do still qualify from the standpoint of income criteria,” said Helb. In 2012, Verona received $95,000 in funding — its lowest appropriation for the program, said Helb. The township used this year’s funds to pay for repaving …
40.83186
-74.2459
Verona Civic Center
600 Bloomfield Ave, Verona, NJ
/articles/verona-council-discusses-potential-streets-for-grant-program
744273
/locations/8749782
Monday, November 12, 2012
One-stop center in Newark has information on assistance for homeowners, small business owners
The FEMA Disaster Recover Center opened its doors Monday to assist those still dealing with the mess left behind by Super Storm Sandy. Located at the Willing Heart Community Care Center (555 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Newark), the center is a one-stop shop for all Sandy and nor'easter Athena recovery resources. Residents can apply for disaster and recovery grants on site, as well as obtain information on things like homeowner mitigation, disaster unemployment and low-interest disaster loans for small businesses. "We want to make certain all those who sustained losses or damages from the recent storms understand exactly what they have to do in order to determine if they're eligible for aid – and that they receive that aid," said …
40.734146
-74.180579
555 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Newark, NJ
/articles/fema-disaster-recovery-center-opens
/locations/8133763
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Homeowners with damaged property from Hurricane Sandy have 60 days to register for assistance.
As the full extent of Hurricane Sandy's impact is still being uncovered, residents who lost homes or have suffered damage to them may apply to FEMA for help right now. Registering your claim can be done online or by phone, and the process takes about 25-30 minutes, officials say. The website is www.disasterassistance.gov. You can apply via your smartphone as well at m.fema.gov. To apply by phone, call 1-800-621-3362. People with speech or hearing disabilities should call 1-800-462-7585. According to Scott Sanders, a FEMA spokesman, you have 60 days from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for help. For New Jersey residents, this means you have until Saturday, Dec. 29 -- 60 days from the date the disaster declaration was made, on …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Impact of Hurricane Sandy expected spread over two days, bringing coastal surging, inland flooding and spot rainfalls of up to 12.
Hurricane Sandy's impact on weather along the coast and inland is expected to continue over two days, potentially bringing coastal surges of 6 to 11 feet, and rainfall of up to 12 inches at spots that could cause river and other inland flooding, federal officials said in a press conference on Sunday morning. No matter exactly where or when the hurricane makes landfall, Sandy is a large system that will create potentially life-threatening surges along hundreds of miles of coastline from North Carolina up to Cape Cod, according to spokespersons for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The hurricane's effect, already being felt in the southern part of the mid-Atlantic, will last up to a day before and after the hurricane's actual arrival…
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Hurricane will bring a variety of hazards and up to 8 inches of rain as it wreaks havoc throughout East Coast, according to federal officials.
As Hurricane Sandy travels toward the East Coast, New Jersey residents should brace for a slow deterioration of the weather well before landfall early next week, according to officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additional damage from Sandy is expected, because the hurricane is expected to lose speed by the time it makes landfall. This will extend the period of heavy wind and rainfall, according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb. Sandy is expected to bring between 5 and 8 inches of rain to the affected area, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction Director Dr. Louis Uccellini said. Between 50 and 60 million people will be impacted by Sandy well into next week. "It's difficult to …
Ross Morrissey
8:11 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Reality Check - I think you need a reality check...   more ›