Six Months After Superstorm Sandy: Red Cross Calls Recovery Effort a 'Marathon'

In a six-month progress report on its work to help people affected by Superstorm Sandy, the American Red Cross said much has been done to help victims but that relief efforts are long from completed.

“In the six months since Sandy devastated homes, communities and families in New York and New Jersey, signs of progress and hope can be seen throughout the region,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the Red Cross. “Recovery from this storm will be a marathon, not a sprint, but I am encouraged by the determination of the people I meet, and Red Cross will be there every day to help them thanks to the generosity of the American public.” 

In Port Chester, the storm brought waterfront flooding and forced some evacuations. However, the storm brought exentensive and prolonged power outages throughout the village that shut schools and many local businesses.

“Six months ago today, Hurricane Sandy tragically claimed three lives in Westchester," said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. "County government property alone suffered $50 million in damage. More than 200,000 homes and businesses lost power, including mine. It took more than two weeks to restore the last home. We’re still recovering.  But the storm brought out the best in us.  And it brought out the best in our safety personnel too. I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough to our first responders and to the county’s Department of Public Safety."

Astorino said the storm taught Westchester man lessons, including that Con Ed and NYSEG needed to do a much better job working with our municipalities and communicating with their customers. 

"Since the storm, I’ve personally met with the CEO of Con Ed and the president of NYSEG to outline a set of post-storm proposals and recommendations,” Astorino said.

SIX MONTHS OF HELPING 

In the days after the storm came ashore, the Red Cross was able to immediately launch a large-scale emergency relief effort – the largest U.S. disaster response by the Red Cross in more than five years. After weeks of providing emergency relief, the Red Cross has a long-term recovery operation underway today. At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government partners, the Red Cross is working with about 9,000 families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

The Red Cross is helping these families find new places to live, clean mold from their water-logged homes, get emotional support during their struggle and financial support as they work to put their lives back together. Trained Red Cross workers are meeting one-on-one with people to help provide assistance with home repairs, rent, utility deposits and available social service programs.

GRANT PROGRAMS 

 The Red Cross is also giving grant money to other non-profit groups to support the help they are providing to those affected by Sandy. This includes giving nearly $6 million in grants to three food banks in New York to help ensure people continue to get the food they need—nearly 20,000 meals are still provided each day. A grant of $500,000 has been given to Operation Hope to provide assistance and financial counseling to survivors. Another $5 million has gone to a mold remediation program to help New York residents clean up their homes.

“Sandy was bigger than any one organization and we all have a role to play,” said Josh Lockwood, CEO, American Red Cross Greater New York Region. “It will take time for people to heal, rebuild and recover, but together we bring that day that much closer.”

The Red Cross is working closely with several local nonprofits to help ensure survivors don’t fall through the gaps. Through a partnership with New York Cares, volunteers help perform muck-out and mold remediation in hard-hit communities. On Long Island, $1 million was given to help establish an Unmet Needs Roundtable with partners like the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island.

RED CROSS RELIEF 

In these past six months more than 17,000 Red Cross disaster workers – about 90 percent of them volunteers - have responded to help those affected by Sandy. The Red Cross has:

• Served more than 17 million meals and snacks – 12.1 million in New York alone
• Distributed more than 7 million relief items such as cold weather items and clean-up supplies – 5.3 million in New York
• Provided almost 113,000 health services and emotional support contacts for people living in very tough conditions – more than 73,000 in New York
• Provided more than 81,000 shelter stays – nearly 30,000 in New York

In Westchester and Rockland Counties:

The Red Cross assisted 934 people in Westchester and 138 in Rockland with overnight stays in shelters.

The Red Cross served 17,333 meals and snacks in Westchester and 9,619 in Rockland County.

Approximately $302 million was donated to the Red Cross as of April 18 to help those affected by Sandy, and the Red Cross has spent or made commitments to spend about $192 million, which is nearly two-thirds of the contributions to date.

”We want to spend the money people donated for Sandy quickly, but more importantly, we want to spend it wisely,” McGovern said. “It’s important to make sure some money is available for needs no one can predict right now. However long it takes, we are committed that money donated for Sandy will be used to help individuals and communities affected by this storm.”

The six-month report and other information on the Red Cross Sandy relief and recovery efforts can be found at www.redcross.org/sandy-response.