NEW YORK CITY — Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved nearly $669 million in Public Assistance (PA) grants to reimburse state, tribal, local governments and eligible private nonprofits for some of the costs of emergency response, debris removal and repairing or rebuilding damaged public facilities. More than 180 grants have been approved so far. Here are some of the reimbursements:

Emergency work expenses

Federal Disaster Aid in Connecticut Following Hurricane Sandy Tops $45.4 Million

WINDSOR, Conn. — More than $45.4 million in federal disaster grants and loans has been approved for Connecticut survivors of Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced today.

As of close of business Feb. 14:

WINDSOR, Conn. — Hurricane Sandy survivors who have registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have a useful tool at their fingertips: their phone.

Although the deadline has passed for hurricane survivors to register for assistance, survivors may check status of applications or receive other assistance by calling the FEMA Helpline, 800-621-3362. Helpline hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern, seven days a week. The TTY number is 800-462-7585. Multilingual operators are available.

DENTON, Texas– After months of collaboration and the continuous sharing of information resulting in preliminary flood maps, officials with Kleberg County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are now asking the public to participate in a 90-day comment period.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation applicant briefing is scheduled for Philadelphia County, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today.

The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia. The address is:

Municipal Services Building, 16th Floor, Room Z

CHICAGO – You can’t always predict severe weather, but you can prepare. As a powerful winter storm continues to develop in the Central U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages everyone to get ready now to weather the storm for at least three days by having all the supplies you and your family need on hand.    

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $1,176,158 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to the city of Madison, Wis., for the construction of a safe room at the Highland Manor Mobile Home Park.

PEARL, Miss. – A new Disaster Recovery Center is open in Petal, giving disaster survivors in Forrest, Lamar, Marion and Wayne counties a third location for meeting face-to-face with recovery specialists. The center is located at:

Petal Civic Center (Forrest County)

714 South Main St.

Petal, MS 39465

Disaster survivors can also visit Disaster Recovery Centers in two other locations:

Ben McNair Recreation Center (Forrest County)
300 North 12th Ave.
Hattiesburg, MS 39401

Lamar Park (Lamar County)

PEARL, Miss. – Disaster survivors in Forrest, Lamar, Marion and Wayne counties can now meet face-to-face with recovery specialists at two Disaster Recovery Centers opening today, Feb. 16, in Hattiesburg.

The centers are staffed with recovery professionals from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration who can provide information and answer questions about disaster-related assistance.

NEW ORLEANS – Pottery sherds, animal bones and pieces of clay tobacco pipes are among the items recently discovered by a team of archaeologists under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency surveying land near Bayou St. John in New Orleans.

BATON ROUGE, La. – State and federal recovery from Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana has hit a new milestone, topping half a billion dollars since the Aug. 29, 2012, disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said.

ATLANTA – Two additional counties have been designated for disaster assistance to households and businesses as part of Mississippi's federal disaster declaration, according to officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The latest counties are Marion and Wayne.

Counties previously designated are Forrest and Lamar.

ATLANTA – Teams of federal and state disaster recovery professionals are reaching out to disaster survivors in Forrest and Lamar counties to make sure they know what help is available and how to get it.

FEMA and MEMA’s Community Relations teams go door-to-door in hard-hit areas and visit churches, schools, and other community gathering places. CR teams are easily identified by FEMA photo ID badges and their blue FEMA shirts.

PEARL, MS —Disaster survivors in Forrest and Lamar counties affected by Feb. 10 storms and tornadoes should apply now for federal assistance.

Registration is simple and can be completed several ways:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As officials from the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region VII office continue monitoring the development of what could be the most powerful winter storm the central U.S. has seen since 2011, residents are encouraged to act now, preparing both their homes and their families for whatever may arise.   

MENLO PARK, Calif. — "Predicted population increases in this century can be expected to translate into more people dying from earthquakes. There will be more individual earthquakes with very large death tolls as well as more people dying during earthquakes than ever before, according to a newly published study led by U.S. Geological Survey engineering geologist Thomas L. Holzer."

Holzer and his USGS coauthor James Savage studied earthquakes with death tolls of more than 50,000, which they define as catastrophic, and reported global death tolls from roughly 1500 A.D. to the present. Comparing those events to estimates of world population, they found that the number of catastrophic earthquakes has increased as population has grown. After statistically correlating the number of catastrophic earthquakes in each century with world population, they were able to use new (2011) 21st-century population projections by the United Nations to project that approximately 21 catastrophic earthquakes will occur in the 21st century, a tripling of the seven that occurred in the 20th century. They also predict that total deaths in the century could more than double to approximately 3.5 million people if world population grows to 10.1 billion by 2100 from 6.1 billion in 2000. 

"This prediction need not be a prophesy: the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) in the U.S. can be a model for how science can inform engineering designs that are adopted into life-saving building codes in earthquake-prone regions," said USGS Associate Director for Natural Hazards David Applegate. "I also cannot stress enough the value of educated citizens — those who understand the natural hazards of this planet and are empowered to take action to reduce their risk."

Four catastrophic earthquakes have already struck since the beginning of the 21st century, including the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (and tsunami) and 2010 Haiti earthquake that each may have killed over 200,000 people. The study explains this increase in lethal earthquakes. It is not that we are having more earthquakes; it is that more people are living in seismically vulnerable buildings in the world's earthquake zones. 

Holzer's study underscores the need to build residential and commercial structures that will not collapse and kill people during earthquake shaking.

"Without a significant increase in seismic retrofitting and seismic-resistant construction in earthquake hazard zones at a global scale, the number of catastrophic earthquakes and earthquake fatalities will continue to increase and our predictions are likely to be fulfilled," Holzer said.

The study, "Global Earthquake Fatalities and Population," is available online.

NEW YORK – In a single day, 185 disaster loans closed recently for Hurricane Sandy survivors in New York by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA surpassed the $1 billion mark in loans to businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters. The 185 loans that closed on Saturday, Feb. 16, ranged from less than $1,000 to $240,000 in Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland and Suffolk counties.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Public Assistance program is for infrastructure recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emphasizes the differences between the Individual Assistance and Public Assistance programs. Unlike Individual Assistance, through which individuals and households may apply for federal funding to help recover from disasters, Public Assistance provides funding for eligible projects to recover elements of the infrastructure. As an example, damaged public roads, bridges, culverts are elements of the infrastructure.  

TRENTON, N.J. -- Getting free advice on how to repair or rebuild your home to minimize future disaster damage is as easy as visiting your local home improvement store. Specialists from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will offer their expertise on building techniques that can help protect your home, business or other property.

This free service also offers information and publications on topics such as:

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is requesting individuals who are interested in serving on the National Advisory Council (NAC) to apply for appointment.  The NAC is an advisory committee established to ensure effective and ongoing coordination of federal preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.