FEMA Chief Tours Storm-Ravaged Parts Of Connecticut
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the most storm-ravaged parts of Connecticut on Tuesday.
FEMA Chief Craig Fugate toured Milford, Fairfield, Bridgeport and Norwalk along with state officials.
WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports
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A preliminary assessment put the cost of damage caused by superstorm Sandy at $360 million but officials warned that number was expected to rise.
Connecticut has not yet tallied the total cost but officials said thousands in the state have registered for emergency assistance.
"We're approaching 10,000 individual claims that have been made with FEMA," Gov. Dannel Malloy told reporters including WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "We do have uninsured loss, we do have municipal loss, we do have state loss. We're putting our arms around that."
Speaking at a disaster recovery center in Bridgeport, Malloy said he expects the total number of accepted claims to be relatively low, since FEMA relief only covers uninsured losses.
"Connecticut is a very highly insured state, which should surprise nobody since the American insurance industry was founded here in Connecticut," the governor said.
MORE: Information On Applying For Aid | FEMA Disaster Assistance
Regardless of the total number of claims, Fugate said the agency is committed to assisting with the relief and recovery effort.
"We're going to be here as long as it takes," Fugate said.
So far, FEMA has approved more than $7.5 million in aid to Connecticut to help with the clean-up and relief effort, according to the agency.
Fugate said he hopes funding will not be an issue.
The deadline for Connecticut residents to file for FEMA assistance in Dec. 31.
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