Image: The 711 Seagirt complex, buildings A through D (c) Benepe

cyclistsinternational.com - November 9th, 2012 - Jen Benepe, Minda Aguhob and Tony Moy

Misery is rising in a large building in the Far Rockaways, and many residents are either unaccounted for, or not responding to visits to their doors.

Unofficial reports by neighbors said that four residents in the 900-unit building have died since Hurricane Sandy, including a couple who expired from carbon monoxide poisoning after using their oven to stay warm. All of the deaths occurred in the first week after the storm.

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pbs.org - November 9th, 2012 - Rick Karr

The homes of some New Jersey residents have been without power or heat more than 10 days after superstorm Sandy struck. And even with support from out-of-state utility workers untangling downed lines, erecting polls, and repairing the grid, many may remain in the dark for days to come. Special correspondent Rick Karr reports.

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tools.niehs.nih.gov

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy, one of the largest and fiercest storms to threaten the East Coast, made landfall in New Jersey. The devastating storm caused extensive damage throughout the East Coast as it released torrential rains, ferocious winds, and widespread flooding.

This webpage provides documents and resources that address emergency preparedness in hurricane and flood situations.  Documents found on this page primarily address issues in government preparedness and public preparedness.  Some information has been taken from the Floods and Hurricane Katrina Emergency Preparedness Pages located on the National Clearinghouse Website.

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nytimes.com - November 12, 2012 - Raymond Hernandez

The New York Times reports that Governor Cuomo is planning to ask for at least $30 billion in disaster relief from the federal government. 

We need some of this money to be allocated for immediate food, water, medicine, and other supplies.

'In making the case for federal aid, the governor’s advisers provided a staggering inventory of need ... $3.5 billion to repair the region’s bridges, tunnels and subway and commuter rail lines; $1.65 billion to rebuild homes and apartment buildings; $1 billion to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency personnel; and several billion dollars in federal loans and grants to affected businesses.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/nyregion/cuomo-to-seek-30-billion-in-aid-for-storm-relief.html?smid=fb-share

easthamptonstar.com - November 11, 2011 - Carrie Ann Salvi

Word is finally out about the dire situation in the Rockaways and how community-based volunteer groups are getting help to those in need.

'Hundreds of elderly people in areas of Queens struck hard by Hurricane Sandy are stuck in high-rise apartments without food and water...Several Montauk residents quickly organized East End Cares to help victims after the Oct. 29 storm struck the Northeast. Both the Sag Harbor and Montauk Fire Departments sent teams to striken areas on Saturday...

"Desperately needed" donations, according to Ms. <Melissa> Berman, can be made online, and updates can be found on the Facebook page. <https://www.facebook.com/groups/EastEndCares/> Clothes are not needed right now, she said. Shovels, mops, cleaning supplies, and heavy gloves will be welcomed...

"Does the world know how bad it is here?" asked Ms. <Alison> Thompson on Twitter yesterday from Rockaway, Queens. Top needs include medication, she posted. The power won't be on for a month at least, she said. "We need to get these people out."

November 9, 2012

Dear Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg,

We write first to thank you for your dedication to the constituents of this City and your support in addressing the unprecedented crisis of Hurricane Sandy. While there has been an incredible outpouring of help and attention to our friends and neighbors struggling throughout the five boroughs, we have learned in recent days that constituents of Queens in the Rockaways and Hamilton Beach, home to approximately 80,000 people, continue to live without vital necessities. As we continue to hear stories from the residents there, we are particularly concerned that this area will be without power for a minimum of the next three weeks, including the Thanksgiving holiday.

As concerned citizens of New York City and neighbors to those worst affected by the storm, the groups who have signed below would like to know the steps being taken to address these areas and, more importantly, to offer our assistance as you and your agencies increase emergency efforts.

From current communication with those in the field, we have assessed that thousands of residents have little or no access to the following resources:

(TO READ THE COMPLETE LETTER - SEE LINK OR ATTACHMENT BELOW - 6 PAGE .PDF FILE)

nytimes.com - by Joe Nocera - November 9, 2012

On Friday morning, I drove out to the Rockaways with Nan Shipley, a 48-year-old real estate broker and mother of three. Though we barely know each other, she had been sending me e-mails all week, updating me about the problems facing residents of the Rockaways, the thin peninsula on the southern edge of Queens that had been decimated by Hurricane Sandy.

Shipley, who lives in Manhattan, had been going out there every day since last Saturday, volunteering in the hard-hit enclave of Belle Harbor, where a Roman Catholic church, St. Francis de Sales, had essentially been taken over by relief workers.

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MYFOXNY.COM - November 10, 2012

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be opening a Disaster Recovery Center in Rockland County Sunday to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy.  

The Disaster Recovery Center will be located at Provident Bank Park in Pomona and will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. 

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/20063874/fema-disaster-recovery-center-to-open-in-rockland

Image: Wreckage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - November 6th, 2012 - Molly Cotter

Many people have been talking about how to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Sandy, but nonprofit design services group Architecture for Humanity has actually gone and created a 5-point rebuilding plan. Their proposal not only focuses on working with local authorities, companies, and builders, but is also dedicated to reconstructing for long-term results, and that means building green. The organization, which has been helping Japan reconstruct many of its towns after the tsunami and earthquakes of 2011, used their expertise to draw up a strategic scheme for how New York and New Jersey could be rebuilt in a way that would make them more sustainable and disaster-proof than ever before.

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ny.cbslocal.com - November 9, 2012

'<Mayor>Bloomberg said Friday that the program called “NYC Rapid Repair” is aimed at getting as many people back into their homes as quickly as possible.

He said that starting Tuesday, New Yorkers whose homes were damaged in the storm can go to a city restoration center, get a Federal Emergency Management Agency number and sign up.

“You have to have a FEMA ID number. The FEMA ID number will be given you regardless of whether you have insurance, regardless of how much damage you have, regardless of whether you have a mortgage. Just call FEMA, they will give you a number and then you have to just ask for the assistance,” Bloomberg said.

To Contact FEMA, call 1 (800) 621-FEMA (3362)

He said that once a homeowner signs up, a contractor will come and assess the damage and “within a short time, the work will be done.”

Bloomberg said he expects FEMA to pay for most of the repairs.