Residents in Cook and Will counties now may apply for federal assistance, as President Bush declared those and five other flood-ravaged counties disaster areas Friday.

Starting Sept. 13, severe storms drenched the region, overwhelming and damaging basements and school buildings. A swollen Little Calumet River flooded and shuttered roads.

Bush declared Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in Indiana a disaster 10 days later on Sept. 23.

Federal aid can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help people and business owners recover from storm damage.

Lansing village President Dan Podgorski said Friday south suburban officials made last-minute pleas this week for as many residents as possible to report their storm damage in the hopes of making the federal requirement.

"We're real happy to hear Cook County has been included in the disaster area," Podgorski said, citing the damage suffered by many Lansing homeowners.

"Certainly, it's not to the extent that our neighbors in Munster or Calumet City have sustained," he said.

But the foundation in several village homes crumbled under the pressure of floodwaters, he said. Those residents could be facing up to $25,000 in repairs, Podgorski said.

Podgorski estimated thousands of homes experienced some kind of basement seepage. The infrastructure of several hundred of those weakened to the point of cracking or worse, he said. Thousands of residents suffered sewer backups.

Podgorski said village officials likely will begin examining and categorizing homes by their level of damage sometime next week.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said damage surveys continue in other areas, and more counties could be designated as eligible for aid.