9 Years After Sandy: How NYC is Spending Billions in Federal Aid

Thousands of homes were damaged or completely destroyed by terrible flooding, wind, and fires that broke out at the height of the storm. It also caused an estimated $19 billion in damages throughout the city, resulting in one of the largest federal relief payouts in history.

The Hurricane Sandy federal relief bill, which provided more than $50 billion for recovery, was approved by Congress in January 2013, months after the storm devastated parts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

New York City received more than $13 billion from the funds, the largest share of money.

Those dollars were allocated through Federal Emergency Management Agency grants, which so far total more than $9 billion, and a grant by Housing and Urban Development, which allocated $4.21 billion in disaster aid.

While HUD’s grant total is set, the city can continue applying for relief money from FEMA for work done to fix storm damage, according to officials.

Private insurance claims for Sandy, which covered auto, home, and business insurance payouts, were more than $18 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute. About half of those payouts went to New York State policyholders. In addition, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance program paid an additional $8.6 billion in flood claims for the storm.