Sixty-one Clarendon County homeowners were deemed eligible for the repair or replacement of homes damaged by the October 2015 storm commonly known as the 1,000-year flood.
Clarendon County Administrator David Epperson said Monday night during a regular County Council meeting that 159 homeowners had applied with the South Carolina Disaster Recovery Office, either online or while the office had operating hours in Clarendon on more than five occasions in November and December in Manning, Summerton and Turbeville.
Officials with the SCDRO announced Wednesday that the first 10 award letters have gone out to eligible homeowners in Manning, Sumter, Moncks Corner, Kingstree, Salters, Greeleyville, Cades and Florence. Both Kingstree and SUmter had two eligible homeowners in the first round of award letters.
"Funding was made available through Community Development Block Grant to the residents of the county and the state to provide for costs of the repair or replacement of homes damaged during the 2015 flood," said Epperson. "We had 159 applicants in Clarendon County, and 61 were determined to be eligible."
According to a release from the SCDRO, an award letter does not mean that the homeowner must accept the assistance, which comes in the form of a low-interest loan to be paid back over up to three decades.
"Award letters notify citizens that they have been accepted into the program," the release said. "The letter also lists the next steps the citizen must take to move forward. Once approved, it is up to the citizen to decide if he or she will participate in the program. SCDRO protects the personal information of the citizens we serve and will release only the county and zip code for households served by the program."
Epperson said those who experienced similar damages from Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 - almost a year-to-the-day after the 2015 flood - will likely be able to apply for similar assistance toward the end of 2017.
"They will probably do these same SCDRO days in various counties affected by Matthew at the same time this year that they did in 2016, so that means November and December," Epperson said. "We have residents who were affected by one or the other, or even both storms, so we know there's a need out there."
