GARY | When Kyle Mallory arrived at Ivy Tech Community College Northwest in Gary at 11:30 a.m., there already were more than 500 people in line ahead of him.

Ivy Tech is housing one of three disaster relief offices in Lake County staffed by state and federal officials who are taking applications and information from flood victims in an effort to provide relief. The centers opened Thursday.

Mallory said he has 18 inches of water in the basement of a rental property in the Glen Park section of Gary. He said he and his tenant will apply for benefits. He hopes to get a low-interest loan through the Small Business Administration to take care of repairs.

Mallory said he already has pumped the water out and pulled out the drywall.

As Mallory stood in line, he talked to others who said some people arrived at Ivy Tech as early as 5 a.m. to make sure they were among the first to be served.

"They have been very friendly and very helpful. They had the floodlights on in the parking lot for those who arrived real early. They've been bringing out bottles of water to us," he said.

By the time Mallory was getting close to the door to get inside and put in the application, he said there were hundreds of people behind him.

Farther east at the Gary Career Center, Zach Main, director of the Division of Family Resources for the Family and Social Services Administration, was supervising nearly 150 people who were taking disaster food stamp applications from flood victims.

He said 90 computers were set up and "hundreds of people have received assistance."

At the Lake Station disaster relief office, Federal Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Jessica Morgan said workers had served about 350 people by 4 p.m.

"We're asking people to call and register for assistance," she said. "Once they're registered, they are eligible for a number of services, including housing, food and other assistance. This office is designed to help people with any questions they have after they have registered. We'll get an inspector out to their homes within three to five days and they'll get a packet in the mail containing an SBA loan application.

"The Salvation Army is here and they are providing vouchers for clothing."