FEMA finds $9.7 million in extra aid for flood victims

A program to help South Carolina flood survivors initially deemed ineligible for federal disaster aid has uncovered $9.7 million in federal assistance for them.

More than 4,500 residents statewide benefited after the Federal Emergency Management Agency reviewed their cases a second time, agency spokesman Jim Homstad said.

FEMA studied more than 101,600 aid applications submitted after the Oct. 4 storm, contacting applicants who could easily become eligible and trying to help them appeal.

Applicants are sometimes ineligible for “something as trivial as missing information,” Homstad said. “Once you fill in the blank, eligibility can change.”

FEMA has approved roughly $83.9 million in disaster aid statewide for individuals and households, Homstad said. Just more than 27 percent of FEMA applicants received aid.