FEMA Says More Than 7,200 Applied For Irene Assistance

(Host) More than 7,200 Vermonters applied for financial assistance from the federal government before this week's deadline.

As VPR's Ross Sneyd reports, at least $46 million in grants and loans have already been made.

(Sneyd) In a state of 620,000 people, the number of households who applied is staggering.

Billy Penn of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it reflects the extent of the storm's destruction.

(Penn) "What you're looking at here is a devastating flood that went from the north to the south all the way through the state. And when you have something that covers that much territory, you'll have a lot of people affected."

(Sneyd) FEMA has already approved some kind of assistance for just under half of the households that filed applications.

And 144 of them have gotten the full assistance of slightly more than $30,000.

Some of the families, businesses and nonprofits that were hit by the flood also filed for help from the Small Business Administration.

And Penn says they're likely to hear in coming weeks about what benefits they might qualify for.

(Penn) "So all of them will not be FEMA assistance. Some of them will be SBA loans."

(Sneyd) The SBA has already approved almost $25 million in disaster loans. About $15 million has been handed out for home loans and $9.6 million has gone out in loans to businesses.

Federal officials have visited thousands of homes as they've processed applications to determine whether damages qualified for assistance.

FEMA says it plans to have its staff in the state for many months to come as the recovery continues.

For VPR News, I'm Ross Sneyd.