WASHINGTON ? President Obama declared a major disaster in Massachusetts yesterday and ordered that federal aid be provided to areas struck by severe tornadoes and thunderstorms earlier this month.
The federal assistance will be available to residents in Hampden and Worcester counties, which were hardest hit.
?Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,?? the White House said in a statement.
Aid also will be available now to the state and local governments and some private nonprofits dealing with fallout from the storms in Hampden County.
The White House said additional measures could be put in place going forward, depending on damage assessments.
Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said in a phone interview that assessors from his agency calculated a preliminary damage estimate of $25 million for public property in the state, though that figure is expected to rise.
He said the agency does not have a financial estimate for damages to private homes. He said that of the 1,400 homes assessors visited in affected areas in Central and Western Massachusetts, over 300 had been completely destroyed and more than 600 suffered ?major damage.??
Judge said relief centers offering assistance to people seeking federal aid will open in nine of the hardest hit communities in a few days, including Springfield, West Springfield, and Monson.
Among the many relief programs available, homeowners in the two counties may apply for low-interest loans of up to $200,000 to repair damages to their primary residence that are not fully covered by insurance, according to a statement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno of Springfield said in a brief phone interview that he was grateful to the president and other federal and state officials for helping to bring the aid to the region.
?We look upon it as a rebirth of and strengthening of the city,?? he said.
Residents and business owners in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering at disasterassistance.gov or calling 1-800-621-3362.
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @DonovanSlack. Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. 
? Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
Source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-EconomyBusiness/~3/NWkT2tw5t9g/
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