Hurricane Irene News

N.Y. to Spend $20M on Affordable Housing in Communities Hit by Sandy

New York state is setting aside $20 million to build affordable housing units in communities that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather systems in recent years. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced the funds Sept. 30. …

Is Climate Change Now Its Own Industry?

Interest in climate change is becoming an increasingly powerful economic driver, so much so that some see it as an industry in itself whose growth is driven in large part by policymaking. The $1.5 trillion global “climate change industry” grew …

New York Mountain Town Awaits Hurricane Relief, 20 Months Later

Rebecca Hoskins poked through the debris in her flood-wrecked house: a TV here, a light fixture there. Someone had been in and taken down the curtains. She blinked back a tear. It was a crisp early spring day and her …

Vermont Gov. Shumlin Releases Irene Storm Recovery Report

Vermont is on schedule to close most residents’ Tropical Storm Irene-related government aid cases by late summer, meaning they will have safe housing by the second anniversary of flooding that damaged more than 7,000 homes, according to a report released …

Lawsuit Focuses on Flood Insurance Claims, Classification of Basement

A recently filed class action lawsuit in New Jersey is alleging “improper handling” of certain flood insurance claims arising out of Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The lawsuit focuses on the classification of the lowest floor …

Vermont Irene Recovery Fund Pays Out $2M to Victims

A private fund-raising group set up to help Vermonters recover from Tropical Storm Irene has paid out more than $2 million to flood victims. There is another $2 million remaining in Vermont’s Long Term Disaster Relief Fund, but officials say …

North Carolina Learned Lessons from Last Year’s Category 1 Irene

This time last year folks in Beaufort County, North Carolina were packed up and ready to heed an evacuation warning when Hurricane Irene was forecast to come ashore as a Category 2 storm. When the storm was downgraded, people decided …

Federal Grants Available in July for Vt. Towns Hurt by Hurricane Irene

Some federal funds are due out this summer for Vermont towns hurt by Tropical Storm Irene.Ray Doherty of Vermont Emergency Management tells Vermont Public Radio the funding will be delivered first to towns, and then to homeowners.

Feds OK $7M to Demolish Flood-Prone Pennsylvania Properties

Federal emergency management officials say they’ll demolish dozens of damaged and flood-prone properties in eastern and central Pennsylvania.FEMA announced on Thursday, June 7, that it’s spending just over $7 million to acquire 94 structures affected by historic flooding last year.

4 North New Jersey Towns to Share $2.9M in Flood Buyouts

Millions of dollars in state funds are heading to North Jersey towns, providing a measure of relief to at least a dozen households devastated by Hurricane Irene.But even as officials cheered the Blue Acres grants — part of a proposed …