Flood buyouts for 646 upstate New York properties

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Credit Flickr / Doug Kerr

Flooding in Schenectady, New York due to the aftermath of Hurricane Irene - August 29, 2011.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — With New York officials now proposing to spend $400 million to buy and demolish downstate homes damaged by October's Superstorm Sandy, they say 646 buyout applications have been federally approved for $55 million in a buyout program for upstate properties damaged in 2011 by the back-to-back storms Irene and Lee.

The head of the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services tells lawmakers Wednesday that 60 percent of New York's counties have recovered and rebuilt or are in the process following two of the mostly costly natural disasters on record.

Commissioner Jerome Hauser says the rebuilding targets improvements to avoid catastrophic damage from major storms and flooding now occurring more often.

He says the Cuomo administration's proposed budget shows nearly $13 billion in federal aid passing to local governments.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.