Help is on the way.

Those five simple words could not have sounded much sweeter to Lawrence County EMA/911 Director Don Mootz when he heard the good news Friday afternoon.

County residents and business owners will now be eligible to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to assist with cleanup and repairs for damage stemming from the September floods brought by several hurricane remnants that soaked the Tri-State.

"This is great news. We have had some people here suffer major damage in the county," Mootz said. "The only hope we had was to use this process."

In September, President George W. Bush declared federal disasters for Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Stark, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Washington counties. Athens, Meigs, Mahoning, Vinton and Gallia counties were added to the list, making them all eligible for individual assistance.

Initially, it did not appear that there were enough houses in Lawrence County with significant damage to warrant assistance.

To qualify there has to be 25 homes with 40 percent structural damage but only eight were immediately reported, Mootz said.

But last month, the Lawrence County Commissioners asked the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and state legislators to reconsider.

"We had lots of farmers who lost hay, tobacco, soybeans and other crops,&uot; Commissioner George Patterson said at the time. &uot;We would like them to look at it again and consider these types of losses.&uot;

In part because nearby counties including Gallia, Meigs and Athens received the disaster declaration, Lawrence was able to be declared a contiguous county after further review, Mootz said.

FEMA administers a range of programs that include housing assistance, unemployment assistance and loan programs.

Anyone who suffered flood losses or damage should call the local EMA office at 532-4374 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. FEMA lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Information can also be found online at www.fema.gov.

Mootz urged anyone who suffered flood damage to take advantage of the program before the Nov. 18 deadline to apply.

"We are here to help in every way we can," he said. "Our mission is to get people the help they need."