TIMES STAFF REPORT

Indiana residents who were affected by severe storms and flooding have until Monday to register for federal disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Regis Phelan, FEMA's head of Indiana Recovery Operations, said people need to register with FEMA to find out if they are eligible for assistance.

Residents can register online at www.fema.gov. They also can register by calling FEMA at (800) 621-3362 or at TTY (800) 462-7585 for those with speech or hearing impairments. Lines are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Residents also can check the status of applications and upgrade contact information through the same numbers.

FEMA Individual Assistance includes grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses such as medical care and damage to personal property. Residents in 30 counties are eligible for Individual Assistance programs related to the severe storms and flooding of Sept. 12 through Oct. 6. The roster of eligible counties includes Lake, Porter and LaPorte.

In addition to FEMA assistance, low-interest disaster loans are available from the U.S. Small Business Administration for homeowners, renters, businesses and certain nonprofits. Residents who receive an SBA disaster loan application in the mail after applying with FEMA should be sure to complete the application, even if they aren't sure they want a loan. Completing the SBA application is an important step in being considered for FEMA's Other Needs Assistance program, which covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses. More information on Indiana disaster recovery is available by visiting www.fema.gov or www.in.gov/dhs.

As of Tuesday, the SBA had approved 501 applications for loans in 11 Indiana counties including Lake, Porter and LaPorte. In LaPorte County, 34 applications were approved for a total of $747,300. In Lake County, 398 applications were approved for a total of nearly $16.4 million in loans. In Porter County, 47 loan applications were approved for a total of $1.2 million.