FEMA Aid Less Than $1K for Average Applicant

No home in Hackettstown’s 07840 ZIP code area sustained more than $10,000 in damages as a result of Hurricane Sandy’s devastation, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Separated by ZIP code, FEMA released a chart with every New Jersey town’s total number of applicants seeking aid from the government agency. According to the chart, there were 143 total applicants in Hackettstown. Of those, 84 were homeowners and 59 were renters.

Just 23 in all will receive financial aid from the agency, the chart showed.

The chart showed four categories for homeowners: $0 to $10,000 in assessed damages; $10,001 to $20,000; $20,001 to $30,000; and $30,001 and above.

Of the 21 homeowner applicants that received aid, none had more assessed damage than $10,000.

Renter applicants were broken down into three categories of assessed damage: moderate; major; and substantial. Of the 59 renter applicants, two were given aid, both assessed in the moderate category.

The average Hackettstown applicant received $984 from the agency, the agency said. In total, just 16-percent of all Hackettstown applicants received some form of funding from the agency.

Hackettstown suffered greatly from the late-October 2012 storm, forcing schools to close for a full week and seeing the business district be inoperable for days at a time.

In hindsight, the town was luckier than many others, according to Mayor Maria DiGiovanni.

Next door in from the agency.

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.

Did you apply for aid from FEMA? Were you granted any funding? Denied?