INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) More than 13,000 Hoosiers have applied for federal disaster relief following this month's storms, a top Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator said Thursday.FEMA approved a major disaster declarat ion Tuesday for 21 Indiana counties at Republican Gov. Mike Braun's request.FEMA Region 5 acting administrator Fred Kaehler said people affected by the central Indiana floods or the northwest Indiana wind storms have 60 days to apply for federal disaster assistance. They should do so right away.On the FEMA side, that registration process gets things going, and then as soon thereafter as possible, it's followed by an inspection, a home inspection, Kaehler said. That next step ultimately results in what that individual grant would be for that particular household. We do try for days, not weeks.Braun's request for a disaster declaration covered 54 counties. Kaehler said FEMA officials are still reviewing the other 33 counties but noted the agency has not denied any of Braun's requests so far.The approval announced Tuesday included both individual assistance for households and public assistance for infrastructure repairs in these counties: Carroll, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Lake, LaPorte, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Porter, Pulaski, Randolph, Rush, Tipton, Union, and Wayne counties.The initial approval also included assistance for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities in these counties: Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Henry, Lake, LaPorte, Madison, Porter, Tipton, and Wayne counties.FEMA provides money to help residents recover from uninsured losses such as vehicles or homes. Kaehler said the agency cannot cover as much as an insurance company, so homeowners should still use their insurance whenever possible. Additionally, state assistance remains available through one-time disaster assistance grants of up to $5,000 and some housing assistance. Braun said he recommends looking for free services provided by local communities and organizations as well.There are a lot of ancillary things happening, community and county by county, in terms of folks offering and donating hotel rooms, he said. Every community is going to be a little different, and then remember this: Northwest, mostly wind, probably mostly insured. Flooding, since hardly anybody had (insurance), that's where FEMA will come in and that's going to be mostly a central Indiana issue.Executive Director Jonathan Whitham of Indiana Department of Homeland Security said the state is seeking approval for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or D-SNAP. D-SNAP provides short-term food benefits to people who have lost income or faced major expenses due to a disaster or who have suffered a disaster-related injury. Applicants do not have to be eligible for regular SNAP benefits to apply. Regular SNAP users may also apply for D-SNAP if they do not receive the maximum available SNAP benefit for their family. Whitham said the state's Family and Social Services Administration, which oversees Indiana's SNAP program, will join mobile and fixed-site one-stop shops for survivors to apply for FEMA and state-level benefits.Kaehler said the best way to apply for federal disaster relief is through FEMA's online portal. Residents can also call 800-621-3362. As with state applications, Kaehler said residents should have photos and videos of the damage they sustained along with the receipts for any disaster-related expense, no matter how small. People who applied for state assistance still need to go through the FEMA portal. ...read more read less