LOANS AVAILABLE TO FLOOD VICTIMS; WATERLOGGED RESIDENTS IN SARASOTA COUNTY CAN GET LOW-INTEREST LOANS FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.(LOCAL/STATE)

Byline: Greg Retsinas STAFF WRITER

Damage from last week's rainfall and subsequent flooding has qualified Sarasota County residents for federal aid in the form of low-interest loans, county officials said Friday.

Since nearly 10 inches of rain fell on Sarasota on Nov. 13, inundating homes in the Phillippi Creek drainage basin and elsewhere in the county, officials have been surveying the damage, an often tedious process involving insurance records, property visits and homeowner interviews.

Emergency Management manager Bob Nibarger said Friday that the damage inflicted by the storm and swollen rivers, creeks and drainage ditches reached the minimum …