New York’s transportation losses from Irene amount to $65 million

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has submitted its Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance claims to recover $65 million in losses from flood and wind damage to the regional transit infrastructure in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene a year ago.

Thousands of pages were submitted to FEMA and more than 13 companies that insure the MTA, notes a statement from the authority. FEMA has so far approved 59 project worksheets totalling $27.7 million and covering multiple locations throughout the MTA service area, the statement adds.

Typically FEMA reimburses about 75% of approved costs, with this recovery expected to cover a significant portion of MTA’s $25 million insurance deductible. The insurers are reviewing the claim and already have made a $5 million advanced payment, the MTA reports.

Tropical Storm Irene hit the region on August 28, 2011. Metro-North Railroad was worst hit with catastrophic washouts on the Port Jervis Line, flooding on miles of track, and a series of mudslides on the Hudson Line. Metro-North’s claim for losses is approximately $27 million.

Other losses include the following:

• New York City Transit’s claim for losses is about $22 million, including $8 million in overtime spent preparing for the storm, and $14 million in lost revenue when service was suspended for the first time ever.
• MTA Bridges and Tunnels lost almost $9 million, with the bulk of that related to revenue losses incurred through a large drop in traffic across all facilities.
• Long Island’s $5.7 million in damages includes the cost of the manpower mobilized for the event and the loss of revenue that resulted when the storm forced suspension of service on its 11 branches.