Pennsylvanians were approved for $420 million in disaster aid, but that figure will increase as pending applications continue to be processed, according to officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA).

As of Dec. 16, the breakdown of disaster aid reported for Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee included:

• $134.5 million Individual Assistance grants approved. $122.4 million in housing assistance including temporary housing, home repairs, and personal property losses. $12.1 million in dental, medical, and funeral costs and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance
• $82.5 million in low-interest disaster loans approved by the SBA.
• $196.5 million in insurance claims settled by the NFIP (as of Dec. 14)
• $478,360 in Disaster Unemployment Assistance awarded.
• $6.1 million in Public Assistance (Infrastructure) funding
• 94,154 people registered with FEMA for disaster assistance.
• 27,949 people visited Disaster Recovery Centers

“These were historic storms for the state of Pennsylvania,” says Commonwealth Coordinating Officer John Forr. “People throughout the state have been heavily impacted and these funds are making a great deal of difference to many lives as we continue to recover from these storms.”