President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration for Pennsylvania for damage caused by Tropical Storm Lee.

The president's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals here in Lancaster County and in neighboring Dauphin, Lebanon and York counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured or underinsured property losses, and programs to help individuals and business owners recover.

In anticipation of the president's declaration, Lancaster County officials have been preparing office space in one of the county's new buildings on Erin Court in East Hempfield Township.

Scott Martin, chairman of the county commissioners, said the county was asked by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for space to use as a disaster headquarters, where people can file claims.

"FEMA obviously is going to need to have one-on-one time with these people, so they are going to need to be here," Martin said.

FEMA has not yet officially said when it plans to occupy the former M&T Bank building off Rohrerstown Road at Route 30.

Inmates from Lancaster County Prison have been working since Monday to get part of the building ready for FEMA's arrival.

The county bought the three-building property in May but has not moved any offices there yet. Children & Youth Services is expected to move there eventually from its building on the Conestoga View Nursing Home property.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses due to flooding can begin applying for federal assistance by registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov, by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362.

Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service, call 1-800-621-3362.

The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice.

Through Tuesday, Randy Gockley, Lancaster County's emergency management coordinator, reported to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency the following damages:

• Businesses — three destroyed, eight sustained major damage, 64 sustained minor damage and two were "affected."

• Mobile homes — 46 destroyed.

• Multifamily homes — 24 sustained minor damage.

• Single-family homes — eight destroyed, 405 sustained major damage, 1,097 sustained minor damage and four were "affected."

No dollar amount has yet been set for the cost of damages countywide.

Martin said he expects it to be in the "multimillions of dollars."

Even with state and federal assistance, Martin said, many county residents and business-owners will be paying money out of their own pockets for repairs.

The county will too.

One county-owned covered bridge must be rebuilt, another needs major rehabilitation and several other bridges of all types need repairs.

County parks facilities also sustained damage.

"I can't see how all of this won't impact our budget for next year — either our debt service because we'll have to borrow money or through direct spending," Martin said.

Before Tropical Storm Lee hit, the county already was looking at a tight budget for 2012.

"We were facing some tough decisions as far as spending goes, and now those decisions are only going to get tougher," Martin said.

Gockley is scheduled to give a report on flood damages and recovery efforts Wednesday at the commissioners' weekly meeting at 9:15 a.m. on the seventh floor of the county administration building at 150 N. Queen St.

The disaster declaration also covers Adams, Bradford, Columbia, Cumberland, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union and Wyoming counties.

• Also, the Red Cross expects to begin delivering hot lunch and dinner to flood victims in Manheim and Marietta Wednesday.

"We are starting to do outreach to those in areas hardest-hit," spokeswoman Kathy Smyser said Tuesday. "People are just getting back to their houses and who knows what they'll find."

All told, six vehicles will fan out across the American Red Cross of the Susquehanna Valley chapter area, delivering some 1,000 lunches and a similar number of dinners.

"We are fully expecting that number to double when we get the operation fully up and running," she said. Meals could be delivered for days or longer, she said.

The emergency response vehicles will head to areas deemed the hardest-hit by emergency management officials, she said. Exact routes were still being worked out last night. The Red Cross also is putting together a booklet for flood victims with information on resources such as furniture and clothing banks.

The Red Cross also expects to establish service centers in hard-hit areas to distribute brooms, mops, bleach, gloves and trash bags, Smyser said.

The response is chapter's biggest undertaking since Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972 though it's far too early to quantify the cost of the response, she said.

"We're fundraising as we go," she said. "So far, were finding the resources we need, but this is on a scale that is larger than we've seen in decades and the cost will be on a scale larger than we've seen in decades, too."

Hundreds of volunteers have assisted and, as always, Smyser said, additional volunteers are needed. For instance, the flooding and disaster response has also prompted cancellation of numerous blood drives.

"We're putting out an appeal for anyone who is able to give, to give," Smyser said. Information on blood donation and volunteering can be found at: www.sqvalleyredcross.org.

Staff writer Dan Nephin contributed to this report.

preilly@lnpnews.com