Almost two years after being badly damaged and needing to be evacuated after Superstorm Sandy, NYU Langone Medical Center will receive $1.13 billion in recovery aid, reports The New York Times. The aid will be used to restore damaged buildings and better protect the medical center from future flooding disasters.

The center, which is located by New York's East River, will install interior flood doors and barriers, as well as reinforced walls, seals, and pumps to protect it from flooding, says the Times. When Sandy made landfall, the river filled the medical center basement, knocking out power and forcing doctors, nurses, and emergency workers to carry patients down darkened stairwells to evacuate the center.

According to the Times, Senator Chuck Schumer says the new system of payment was put into the $50 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill to give institutions the confidence not to skimp on needed repairs.

This is the second-largest award for a single project in the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA spokesperson Dan Watson told the Times the largest award was $1.17 billion for the Recovery School District in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Langone Center will receive the payment in a lump sum in advance, rather than bit by bit as repairs are made and receipts are submitted, says the Times.

Read more from Anemona Hartocollis at The New York Times HERE.