In the wake of Hurricane Irene, communities struggle to clean-up, rebuild, and get back to work. In counties covered by a presidential major disaster declaration, FEMA assistance may be available to families and individuals in the following counties: Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico, Tyrrell, Currituck, Halifax, Lenoir, Onslow, Pitt, and Washington.

Update: As of September 13th, here are the counties that have been added to the list: Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Chowan, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Hertford, Johnston, Jones, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Vance, Warren, Wayne and Wilson.

Victims living in these counties will be given free disaster legal assistance provided through the NCBA Young Lawyers Division.

To apply, call 1-800-621-3362 or register online at Disaster Assistance.gov.

For more information, click here