Ind. seeks federal aid for 3 flooded counties

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Disaster relief for flood victims

Gov. Mitch Daniels, center, meets with Munster town officials to view flood damage and to talk with those who were evacuated from their homes and are staying at Munster High School, Tuesday Sept. 16, 2008 in Munster, Ind. (AP Photo/The Times of Northwest Indiana, Natalie Battaglia)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Sep 20, 2008 at 1:42 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 20, 2008 at 10:18 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A week after severe storms assaulted the state, Gov. Mitch Daniels asked President Bush on Saturday for federal assistance for residents of three northwestern Indiana counties hard-hit by the storms that killed seven people statewide.

In his letter to the president, Daniels requested federal disaster housing, unemployment assistance and U.S. Small Business Administration loans for Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties.

The three counties took the brunt of flooding that began Sept. 12 when the remnants of Hurricane Ike began pounding the state with torrential rains that were followed by high winds.

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., and the entire Indiana congressional delegation also sent the president a letter Saturday in support of the governor's request.

"Communities across northwest Indiana are reeling from last weekend's storm and the flooding that it brought," Visclosky said in the letter. "Although the local and state response effort has been exceptional, we will need federal assistance to clean up and recover from the disaster."

The flooding was particularly bad in Lake County, damaging homes and swamping roads from Munster to the west and along the Little Calumet River to the east into Gary, Lake Station and Hobart. Residents in Munster began returning to their homes Thursday.

Flooding from last weekend's storms destroyed or caused major damage to more than 400 primary residences, and damaged more than 1,000 other homes, Daniels said in his letter.

The severe storms also toppled main electric transmission lines, primarily in southeastern Indiana, damaged 13 emergency service radio towers and left two major highways in northwestern Indiana impassable for days.

The governor had declared a state of disaster for Lake and Porter counties Tuesday after surveying waterlogged communities by air and boat. Daniels said he expects to declare a state of disaster in LaPorte County in the coming days.

As of Friday evening, when the Indiana Department of Homeland Security provided its last storm aftermath update, the state's utility crews had restored power to 94 percent of the 519,792 homes and business that had lost power during the storms.

About 31,000 customers of Duke, Vectren, IPL and rural power providers customers remained without power as of Friday's update.

Daniels said in his letter that once damage assessments are complete he anticipates making disaster declarations in LaPorte and 14 other counties that suffered flood or wind damage.

Aside from LaPorte County, Daniels said he expects to make disaster declarations in the following counties: Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Floyd, Jasper, Jefferson, Jennings, Harrison, Martin, Newton, Perry, Scott, Spencer and Switzerland.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com

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