With NJ Still Recovering From Storm Ida, Murphy Announces New Funding, Website To Help

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy announced recently a pledge of $283 million in new funding to help communities still recovering from Tropical Storm Ida, and also launched disasterhelp.nj.gov, a website to help people get funding and resources after future storms.

Just over a year ago, Tropical Storm Ida drenched New Jersey, taking at least 30 lives.

The storm — which hit the area the evening of Sept. 1, 2021 — had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical depression, but the rain was so sudden and constant that rivers overflowed their banks, homes were destroyed, and downtowns flooded.

Murphy said that in addition to the more than $650 million already devoted to response and recovery efforts, the administration will give $283 million more to support recently established Ida recovery programs.

Murphy also released details of a new site, disasterhelp.nj.gov, a one-stop website to navigate federal and state recovery resources available in the aftermath of a storm.

“As we remember the tragic storm that touched down in our state one year ago, we not only lament what we lost that day, but reflect upon what we have gained since then in terms of knowledge, resources, and a renewed focus on the urgency of the climate crisis,” Murphy said in Hillsborough, a town that was hard hit by Ida.

The Murphy Administration distributed state and federal funding for the following programs:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Household & Individual Assistance: More than $250 million
• Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loans: More than $250 million
• FEMA Public Assistance through New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to State and Local Governments: More than $56 million
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Buyout Program: $50 million
• DEP Elevation Program: $30 million
• New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Small Business Grants: $10.5 million
• DEP community stormwater assistance grants: $10 million

"One year later, we're still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Ida," said Rep. Tom Malinowski. "But we’re also becoming more resilient, with billions of new federal dollars to help impacted residents and business owners, an infrastructure bill that is delivering support to flood control projects, and now the biggest national investment ever in fighting climate change?"

Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs through Nov. 30. Track tropical storms here.

READ MORE: Why Is NJ Flooding Getting Worse, And What To Do?