Deadline to apply for federal disaster assistance fast approaching

Residents affected by the historic Oct. 4 flooding in South Carolina have until Monday at midnight to apply for federal disaster assistance.

The deadline to apply for disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration was previously set for Jan. 3 at midnight. That was moved back a day because Jan. 3 fell on a Sunday, FEMA spokesman Carl Henderson said.

Nearly 100,000 residents have registered for FEMA aid, Henderson said. So far, he said, the agency has approved nearly $79.2 million for individuals and households.

Disaster officials since early October have urged South Carolina residents affected by the flooding to apply for federal assistance.

FEMA officials have encouraged residents to appeal any denial letters they receive. Residents have 60 days to appeal a denial letter.

Flood survivors can apply for FEMA disaster aid by calling (800) 621-3362 until 10 p.m., visiting disasterassistance.gov or stopping by a FEMA disaster recovery center.

Disaster recovery centers are open until 6 p.m. Those centers can be found at http://asd.fema.gov/inter/locator/home.htm. Henderson said those disaster recovery centers would be open at least until Tuesday to help people through the registration process.

To apply for an SBA loan, visit disasterloan.sba.gov/ela, call (800) 659-2955 or stop by a disaster recovery center.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 3:28 PM.