Seventeen Iowa Counties declared federal disaster areas due to flooding

President Bush has declared 17 Iowa counties — many of them in the easternpart of the state — disaster areas. That comes after extensive floodingearlier this month.The declaration means residents, businesses and even governments in somecases that were affected by the high water are eligible for federal disasterassistance. Grants, funding for emergency housing and low-interest S-B-Aloans are available. Early estimates indicate that more than $13 million in aid may be distributed. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will process the disaster assistance applications over the next few weeks. The seventeen counties are:Allamakee, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Iowa, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Muscatine, Scott and Winneshiek.