President Declares Disaster For Pennsylvania  

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal aid has been made available to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and ordered federal aid to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Tropical Storm Lee beginning on September 3, 2011, and continuing.

The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Adams, Bradford, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union, Wyoming, and York.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured or underinsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties within the commonwealth.

Thomas J. McCool has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.  McCool said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and additional counties may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed. 

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov , by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362.  The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.