RALEIGH, N.C.

North Carolina farmers hurt by Hurricane Irene last August and by tornadoes in April can now get more help from the federal government with more loan options and payments to recover from crop losses.

State officials announced that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared 35 eastern counties disaster areas from the pair of storms.

RICHMOND Virginia is getting more than $19 million in federal funding to repair roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

BATON ROUGE, La.  Louisiana's emergency response office is sending four employees to Virginia to assist the state with recovery efforts from Hurricane Irene.

Crews have finished removing debris left by Hurricane Irene on all state primary and secondary roads in several counties, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The removal efforts began on Sept. 8 and were completed on Dec. 7 in Greensville, James City, Isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry, Sussex and York counties, a VDOT news release says.

People in North Carolina looking to file flood insurance claims related to Hurricane Irene now have more time to do so. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it is extending the deadline to Jan. 23. The extension is being granted in North Carolina and 14 other states because people have reported problems filing the claims, known as a proof of loss.

RALEIGH, N.C.

More than $64 million has been approved for disaster aid in North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday more than 34,000 people in the state have sought help or information on disaster assistance since the Category 1 hurricane.

By Toni Guagenti IT WAS MORE THAN just deja vu for Brian and Chalice Bell when Hurricane Irene hit in August. They'd definitely lived through the rising water, the damaging winds and the uncertainty of just how much their two-story Inland Colony home in Chesapeake could take during the nor'easter of November 2009. Except when Irene hit, they were more prepared.

By Toni Guagenti
Ron Helton had answers when it came to flood-proofing Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
But Helton, a senior project manager for a large architectural firm at the time, didn't have answers when asked at a conference in Norfolk a year or so later how to flood-proof homes.

MANTEO, N.C.

Starting Thursday, the disaster recovery center in Manteo will become a disaster loan outreach center.

By Gary D. Robertson

RALEIGH, N.C.

Two North Carolina state officials want flood insurance claims adjusters to return to areas pummeled by Hurricane Irene to ensure that home and business inspections are performed adequately so damage claims can be resolved as winter approaches.