The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved 16 counties in Oklahoma for public assistance late last week after many areas of the state requested disaster assistance.

Flooding, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and straight-line winds caused extensive damage during the last two months.

Federal funding will be delivered to municipalities, counties and rural electric cooperatives to help with infrastructure repairs, debris removal, and costs from the response to the storms.

The counties approved for public assistance include: Atoka, Bryan, Cleveland, Cotton, Grady, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer, McClain, Okfuskee, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman.

Gov. Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency requested individual assistance for nine more counties, including Beckham, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Latimer, Marshall, McIntosh, Seminole and Wagoner. Okfuskee, Pushmataha and Tulsa counties are still awaiting approval of their June 1 request.

Federal assistance will also be available to help with housing repairs or temporary housing or U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest loans to fix damaged property, and disaster unemployment assistance.

The filing deadline to apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan for physical damage is July 27. The deadline to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan is Feb. 26.

Snyder writes for The Duncan (Okla.) Banner; Bruha writes for The Norman (Okla.) Transcript.