PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in Pinellas County impacted by Hurricane Idalia can now apply for FEMA assistance. 

Pinellas County has been added to the list of Florida counties under the Major Disaster Declaration.

Pinellas joins Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Pasco, Suwannee and Taylor counties, which were previously approved for Individual Assistance.

These counties were hit hardest by Idalia on Aug. 30. 

Applications for federal disaster asSistance is now open for all those who are eligible.

Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend region of north Florida, but its storm surge filled the streets of Gulf Port, Shore Acres in St. Pete and several other areas of Pinellas County.

While most homes and businesses near the coast carry flood insurance, it won’t cover everything, so receiving federal funds is a sigh of relief for many on the west coast.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was on the ground in Yankeetown over the weekend and said the state was rushing as much assistance as it could into affected areas.

“Some people lost their entire homes. Some of the homes just washed away that were right there on the water. Others had 4 to 5 feet of water in them. They aren’t livable right now. Probably could salvage them, but you got to gut the drywall, you got to do all that, and that takes a lot of time,” he said.

President Joe Biden also visited Florida over the weekend, saying in Live Oak that he was working to increase federal disaster assistance to Florida.

DeSantis and Biden did not meet over the weekend, but both say they are working together on aid and recovery efforts.