Deadline to Apply for Sandy Aid Extended

The deadline for New Jersey residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy to apply for disaster assistance has been extended, Gov. Chris Christie's office announced Tuesday. 

Residents now have until Jan. 30, 2013, to register for disaster aid through FEMA.

The deadline to apply for aid was originally set to expire on Dec. 27, 60 days after FEMA launched its recovery effort, though considering the totality of the damage and the number of households affected by Sandy, the State appealed for more time to accommodate all of its residents.

"The single most important step people can take in this recovery period is to register with FEMA, if they haven’t already," Christie said in a release. “The process of a family receiving any type of federal disaster assistance begins with registering as a disaster survivor with FEMA and working with a coordinator to determine what sort of relief they are eligible for. This extension will help us ensure that anyone who has been affected by the storm gets registered and the help they need and deserve.”

FEMA has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to New Jersey residents following Sandy and has encouraged not only those who haven't applied to seek aid, but those who have been rejected to reapply for assistance, too.

According to a recent study developed by the state and FEMA, as many as 25,000 households in New Jersey have needed or continue to need housing assistance in the form of rental assistance, temporary housing, and other types of aid.

Residents with storm losses in all of New Jersey's counties are encouraged to register online at www.disasterassistance.gov , or via their mobile device by clicking this link .

Sandy victims can also register via telephone by or 711/VRS by calling 800-621-3362, TTY800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice, according to a release.