Federal officials say one-point-one million dollars is being sent to Iowans who applied for disaster relief from the severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes May fifth through the seventh. Brett Voorhees with the Iowa Division of Emergency Management says 814 Iowans put in applications for the funds.

Voorhees says the money is used for temporary repairs, temporary housing, and so people can make sure their homes are safe and habitable. Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Taylor, and Union counties were designated disaster areas , making the people in those counties eligible for individual assistance. Those who didn’t get applications in are not shut out.

Voorhees says there is still time to apply and the first step is to call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), and they will walk you through the process. Voorhees says you should be careful to take time to explore all your options. He says there’s part of the process where you fill out an S-B-A loan application,  but you could later reject that loan and then get a FEMA grant. But you must first go through the process.

Voorhees says eighteen counties were also approved for governmental assistance from the storms. That’s a program to rebuild roads and infrastructure, and they’re just in the process of getting the program going. For more information, you can check the FEMA website at: www.fema.gov , or the State Emergency Management Division.