LAWRENCE AND MERCER COUNTIES Disaster relief payments for flood damage total nearly $700,000

More than 400 people applied for the grants.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Nearly $700,000 in federal disaster relief was given to families in Lawrence and Mercer counties.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced earlier this month that it was offering federal grants and low-interest loans to private-property owners in both counties who suffered damage in last summer's flooding and rainstorms.
FEMA spokesman Len DeCarlo said 303 people from Lawrence County and 186 people from Mercer County applied for the funding. Tuesday was the last day to apply.
Federal officials gave out $422,686 in grants in Lawrence County and $255,542 to Mercer County residents.
DeCarlo said not everyone who applied was eligible, but in Lawrence County, there were 191 households that got money from the Individual and Family Grant program.
A total of $357,178 was given for home repairs and rental assistance for those displaced by storm damage, he said.
An additional 80 Lawrence County residents got a total of $65,508 from the Other Needs Assistance program. That program pays for medical bills incurred by the storm damage or possibly to replace things such as cars lost in flooding.
In Mercer County, 107 people were eligible for the Individual and Family Grant program and received a total of $203,939. Thirty-five others shared $51,603 from the Other Needs Assistance program, DeCarlo said.
Most have already received the money, he said.
Those who did not qualify were referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration for low-interest loans.
Perry Pedini, SBA public information officer, said there were 13 applicants from Mercer County and 24 from Lawrence. All are still being processed.
The SBA offers low-interest disaster-related loans to homeowners and businesses, he said. They usually take about 11 days to process, Pedini said.