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Ohio Disaster Aid to Flood Victims Tops $33 Million
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- More than $21 million in state and federal assistance has been approved for individuals and business owners who suffered damage in Ohio's spring flooding, disaster recovery officials said today. An additional $12.1 million in federal assistance to rebuild infrastructure is expected to be provided in the weeks ahead."With an application deadline of Aug. 2, we are hopeful that nearly every individual who may be eligible for assistance has applied," said Dale W. Shipley, executive director of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Mahoning and Columbiana counties are among the 23 counties declared disaster areas by President George W. Bush. To date, 34,530 people have registered for assistance. At the close of business July 21, 9,802 housing assistance grants totaling $12,318,977 had been approved. Another 7,160 grants totaling $4,637,366 had been approved to meet other serious disaster-related needs, officials said. In addition, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved 345 low-interest disaster loans totaling $4,200,000. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has completed 33,139 inspections of homes to verify damages where flood and storm damage was reported, officials said.The SBA has issued 15,560 loan applications to homeowners, renters and business owners. Officials urge applicants to complete their applications as soon as possible, even if they have not yet received a final settlement from their insurance company. If the loan application is not returned it may delay or prevent receiving other forms of disaster assistance. In addition to the loans and grants for individuals and business owners, FEMA expects to provide local governments $12.1 million to repair infrastructure damage caused by the storms and flooding. This brings the total federal assistance to more than $33 million. Visit FEMA at www.fema.gov"