President Obama is wasting no time to help those who were affected by Sandy. The President has authorized federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency(Yep! FEMA). They are to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey and New York.
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The move by the president comes as FEMA is trying to assess how it can help state and local officials in the areas most affected by the storm, said the agency’s director, Craig Fugate.

“We are very much in a response situation,” Mr. Fugate said on CBS. “We are working very closely with the governors’ teams to get those resources in there as they have requested them.”

FEMA has search-and-rescue teams in the storm zones that are prepared to assist local authorities. It also has large supplies of water, food, cots and other emergency gear, if state or local authorities need them.

In New York, residents of Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Richmond, Suffolk and Queens Counties are eligible to apply for individual assistance. In New Jersey, the declaration covers Atlantic, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union Counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. In some cases, assistance is provided to business owners.

Residents and business owners can begin applying by registering online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling (800) 621-3362.

Separately, FEMA is taking requests from local and state governments to help them cover cleanup costs, like for debris removal, a senior federal official said. FEMA assessment teams will be sent into the flooded zones to assess damage so that the distribution of recovery money can be expedited.

NYT