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“As the recovery process continues, these funds have helped many homeowners and businesses get back on their feet,” Malloy said in a statement. Connecticut continues to rebuild six months after the storm, he said.
To date, more than $280 million in federal disaster assistance has been approved to help individuals, businesses and municipalities, the statement said. Money has gone toward housing assistance, including short-term rental assistance and home repair costs; medical and dental expenses and lost personal possessions; and low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofit organizations.
In addition, the State of Connecticut also received additional federal funds, including for rebuilding efforts, cleanup work and to repair damaged roads and bridges.
Last month, Malloy released a draft plan that outlines the proposed distribution of more than $71 million in supplemental funding. It was designed to help communities most impacted by the storm rebuild and to make them more resilient to future storms, he said. The plan will be considered by the Connecticut General Assembly on Tuesday, May 7.
“While the damage we suffered from Storm Sandy was bad, we know that it could have been far, far worse,” Malloy said. “One needs only to look to our neighbors in New York and New Jersey to see how much worse it could have been. This first allocation will help our rebuilding efforts, but the real goal is receiving funding that will help us to mitigate damage from future storms. Working in conjunction with our state’s Congressional delegation, we will get our fair share from Washington so that our state is better prepared the next time we face a ‘once-in-a-century’ storm.”
As Malloy made his announcement Friday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes toured parts of the still-damaged Fairfield County coastline with Laurel Blatchford, executive director of President Barack Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force.
"Some of the recovery has been rapid, some still has a long way to go," Himes said. "Unfortunately, some of these places need to be rebuilt, not just repaired."
Read The Daily Voice's full story on the visit here.
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