| DCLPublicationDate: 4/1/97 DCLID: Disaster Letter-97-14 AwardYear: Summary: Additional disaster areas declared for recent floods in Minnesota. April 17 1997 SUMMARY: Additional disaster areas declared for recent floods in Minnesota. Dear Guaranty Agency Director: In our April 9 letter to you, we notified you of the 21 counties in Minnesota that the President had declared to be disaster areas because of severe flooding that generally began in those areas on or about March 21. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently has declared an additional 26 counties in Minnesota to be disaster areas because of this severe flooding. The following list of counties reflects the information we have obtained from FEMA as of the date of this letter, with the newly added counties underlined: MINNESOTA: AITKIN, ANOKA, BECKER, Benton, Big Stone, BLUE EARTH, Brown, CARVER, Chippewa, Clay, DAKOTA, GOODHUE, GRANT, HENNEPIN, HOUSTON, KANDIYOHI, Kittson, Lac Qui Parle, LAKE OF THE WOODS, LE SUEUR, LINCOLN, MAHNOMEN, Marshall, MORRISON, NICOLLET, Norman, Pennington, Polk, RAMSEY, Red Lake, REDWOOD, RENVILLE, Roseau, SCOTT, Sherburne, SIBLEY, ST. LOUIS, Stearns, STEVENS, Swift, Traverse, WABASHA, Washington, Wilkin, WINONA, Wright, and Yellow Medicine. For borrower-initiated 90-day forbearances under the guidelines first outlined in the January 14, 1997 "Dear Guaranty Agency Director" letter, the March 21 date may be used retroactively. Lenders and guaranty agencies may also grant a borrower-initiated 90-day forbearance on or after the date of this letter if the lender or guarantor believes the borrower needs one. We will notify you if additional areas in Minnesota or other states are designated by the President or FEMA. Lenders and guaranty agencies may contact 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 for further updates. This letter has also been sent to each regional office of the Department, plus the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc., the Consumer Bankers Association, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Sincerely, Pamela A. Moran Chief, Loans Branch Policy Development Division Student Financial Assistance Programs |