President Bush declared a disaster area across three Northwest Indiana counties Tuesday, and homeowners, renters and business owners can start applying today for FEMA assistance.

Working outside his house on north Munster's pungent, debris-ridden Monroe Avenue on Tuesday, Ron Kotfer said he will go to one of the disaster assistance centers slated to open Thursday to aid residents of Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties.

"I'll be there, papers in hand," Kotfer said.

"I think we all will be. Everybody's in the same boat, no pun intended."

The disaster declaration means the Federal Emergency Management Agency will hand out grants and low-cost loans to cover losses from the floods that flowed across the region starting Sept. 12. Three "one-stop" relief centers will open Thursday, bundling FEMA application services with state and Red Cross disaster programs, said Jane Jankowski, Daniel's spokeswoman. Jankowski did not say Thursday where the centers will open.

Tuesday's declaration covers homeowners, renters and businesses, but not municipalities that have racked up massive costs, Jankowski said. Daniels will likely request a declaration that would help municipalities, Jankowski said. Daniels plans to wait on that request until the total cost is clearer, she said.

Munster, like other local towns and cities, could use federal funds to make up for the unbudgeted disaster. Town officials have not calculated the final cost of staff overtime, payouts to private contractors and other costs accrued since the Little Calumet River overtook Munster's north end, Town Councilman Michael Mellon said.

Those budgetary needs will apply in Hobart as well, Mayor Brian Snedecor said. The city can't absorb such a budgetary shock in September, Snedecor said.

"It's been quite costly to the city," he said. "We've got some repairs to do."

Chesterton officials want federal funds so they can avoid dipping into income tax funds to pay for town improvement projects, Council President Jim Ton said. Taxpayers gave money for those projects, and they deserve the improvements, Ton said.

As they await their funds, municipal officials voiced relief that residents will get aid.

"Thank the good Lord," Snedecor said.

"There was no doubt in my mind that this was a disaster," Mellon said.

"I've lived here 38 years, and this is the worst I've ever seen, by far. There should have been no doubt."

Northwest Indiana Red Cross CEO Gordon Johnson called the disaster "huge" and "devastating." Bush's disaster declaration came faster than usual, Johnson said.

"I guess it was very clear to everyone how devastated the areas were," Johnson said.

Indeed, Kotfer said, whose house lies across Monroe from the house that filled with gas and popped like a balloon last week. Kotfer will have to "start from scratch" on his house, he said. The home is insured against floods, but he couldn't say Tuesday how much the insurance will cover.

"It was like if somebody took your basement, turned it upside down, then sprayed it with a hose," he said.

Down the street, Sue Percak hauled belongings from her brick ranch house, which is now streaked with an even gray line that marks the floodwater's two-foot crest. She, too, will apply for federal aid to supplement her mandatory insurance, she said.

"Everything's gotta be gutted," Percak said.