THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507080433
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Gov. George F. Allen signed an agreement with federal disaster relief officials Friday to share the costs of rebuilding areas of Virginia crippled by recent flooding.
Flooding since June 22 has caused more than $100 million in damage to homes, property, roads and other infrastructure, mostly in the north-central areas of the state and around Danville and Lynchburg to the south.
State officials estimate that 1,200 homes have been damaged and 100 roads washed away.
The cost of disaster relief will not be determined for several weeks, but 929 applications for individual assistance had been filed by Thursday. Each applicant could be eligible for as much as $12,600 in grants and loans at 4 percent or 6 percent interest.
Today, officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency will meet with government leaders in affected areas to begin the process of distributing public assistance for roads, utilities or other government needs.
In most cases, the state will pay 25 percent of the costs and the federal government the rest.
``It won't compensate entirely for the difficulty they are experiencing, but certainly it should give them some comfort,'' said U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb, D-Va., who was in Richmond on Friday for a briefing with state and federal officials.
President Clinton named 12 Virginia localities disaster areas on July 1: The counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Campbell, Culpeper, Giles, Greene, Madison and Rockbridge and the cities of Buena Vista, Lexington, Lynchburg and Staunton.
Bath, Halifax, Orange, Pittsylvania, Rappahannock and Warren counties were added Thursday, and the city of Roanoke was made eligible only for individual assistance.
Victims of flood damage in areas not slated for relief money can still apply for assistance and will become eligible to receive it if their localities are declared disaster areas. Franklin, Bedford and Amherst counties are being considered.
To be eligible for assistance, individuals must show a need. Typically, money is available only to people ``of modest income,'' according to Robb. The money will cover only disaster-related costs not covered by insurance.
KEYWORDS: DISASTER RELIEF FLOOD by CNB