South Carolina to get $8 million in ‘quick release’ emergency relief from D.C.

The feds are stepping in to help out South Carolina.

The Federal Highway Administration is giving South Carolina $8 million in “quick release” emergency funds, the governor’s office said in a statement Friday evening.

The money comes after a request from Gov. Henry McMaster and Christy Hall, secretary of the South Carolina Department of Transportation, the statement said.

“These funds would allow SCDOT to accelerate the start of repair work in the areas where highway infrastructure has been damaged,” according to the statement.

Engineers with the SCDOT are in place to assess the damage as floodwaters from Hurricane Florence recede in the Pee Dee.

“SCDOT will be able to put our contractors to work immediately with funds available to pay them as they complete the work. This is a great step forward in getting our highway system back to where it was before the storm and the flooding struck our state,” Hall said.

The $8 million is a small part of the $1.2 billion McMaster seeks to get from Washington D.C.

Flooding in the Pee Dee region has been described as “catastrophic” by McMaster.

The federal government has extended assistance to more South Carolina counties.

On Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency added Dillon, Horry, Marion and Marlboro counties to the agency’s disaster declaration. That means people in those counties whose property was damaged by Florence and flooding can apply for assistance from FEMA.

Assistance could be money for temporary housing or home repairs. Low-interest loans are available to cover uninsured property losses as part of the federal aid as well. FEMA assists flood survivors through other programs as well.

Federal assistance can be applied for online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. Disaster assistance applicants who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service may call 800-621-3362.

“South Carolina Emergency Management Division and county emergency managers will continue to assess damage in other storm-impacted counties in order to apply for additional federal assistance to help families and communities recover from the storm,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 1:39 PM.