New Disaster Areas Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia

To assure that your Common Manual remains current, please record this document on your LPM/LPB index, and retain it in Appendix E of your manual.

New counties in Georgia have been added to those designated to be disaster areas due to flooding that began on March 7, 1998, as follows: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Barren, Bartow,Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Bryan, Butts, Calhoun, Candler, Carroll, Charlton, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Clayton, Clinch, Cobb, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur,
De Kalb, Dade, Dawson, Dodge, Dooley, Dougherty, Douglas, Early, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Floyd, Forsyth, Fulton, Glynn, Gordon, Grady, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Houston, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Macon, McIntosh, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Murray, Muskogee, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Pulaski, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Screven, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Walker, Ware, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, White, Wilcox, Wilkinson, and Worth.

Adair, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Buchanan,
Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clarke, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dickinson, Fayette, Floyd, Fremont, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Iowa, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Keoduk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Muscatine, Oscecola, Page, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Polk, and Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Shelby, Story, Tama, Taylor, Wapello, Warren, Washington and Winneshiek counties in Iowa have been declared to be disaster areas because of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began June 13, 1998.

Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk,Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester counties in Massachusetts have been declared to be a disaster area because of flooding that began June 13, 1998.

Barnes, Benson, Cass, Dickey, LaMoure, Nelson, Pambina, Pierce, Ramsey, Ransom, Richland, Roletta, Sargent, Stutsman, Towner and Walsh counties and the Indian reservations of the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota have been declared to be disaster areas due to flooding taht began March 2, 1998 (on July 21, a major disaster declaration that had been issued June 15, 1998 was expanded to cover individual assistance).

Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Franklin, Guernsey, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Perry, Pickaway, Richland, Sandusky, Tuscarawas, and Washington counties in Ohio have been declared to be disaster areas because of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began June 24, 1998.

Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Pike, Somerset, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties in Pennsylvania have been declared to be a disaster area because of tornadoes that struck May 31 through June 2, 1998.

Brown, Clark, Codington, Day, Marshall, Roberts, and Spink counties in South Dakota have been declared to be disaster areas due to flooding that began April 25, 1998 (on July 22, a major disaster declaration that had been issued June 1, 1998 was expanded to cover individual assistance).

Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, and Windsor counties in Vermont have been declared to be disaster areas because of flooding that began June 17, 1998.

Further, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Ohio, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wetzel, Wirt, and Wood counties in West Virginia have been declared to be disaster areas because of severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that began June 26, 1998.

Disaster-related Forbearance Policy

1. Loan holders are strongly recommended to grant forbearances to borrowers who contact them and indicate that they have been adversely affected by the disaster and need temporary relief from their loan obligations. If the holder believes that the borrower has been harmed and needs assistance, the holder may grant a forbearance for up to 3 months after the disaster strikes, based on either the borrower's oral or written request for assistance, which must be documented in the holder's files.

2. The holder does not need to obtain supporting documentation or a signed written agreement from the borrower to justify a forbearance for this initial 3-month period. The Secretary will decline to enforce the requirements of 34 CFR 682.211(c) for this period.

3. A continuation of the forbearance past this 3-month period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement from the borrower.

We will notify you if additional areas are designated. Questions and concerns may be addressed to the Department’s toll-free number at 1-800-433-7327, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.