3 Weeks Left For Spring Flood Victims To Apply For Federal Aid
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In just three weeks, local residents will lose their chance to get federal funding to pay for cleanup from flooding that hit from mid-April through early May.
WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency has handed out approximately $98 million so far to 38,000 applicants from 44 counties declared disaster areas from flooding and wind damage that hit the state from April 16 through May 5.
Deadline Nears For FEMA Flood Assistance
So far, 58,000 people have requested help, but FEMA believes more could apply.
"There's probably more people out there that had damage, but are … probably just not aware, or they just figure that maybe there's probably other people that need the assistance," FEMA spokesman Alberto Pilot said.
He said FEMA funding is available to pay for storm repairs, or hotel bills for those who evacuated their homes due to flooding or other severe weather.
Pilot said some damage can be hard to spot right away, so might take longer to find.
"If you have mold between walls, that's going to keep creeping and growing. That's what we want to try to avoid," he said.
The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance from the spring floods in Illinois is July 9.
Storm victims can visit the agency's disaster assistance website to find out how to apply for federal help with storm and flood damage.
