(RALEIGH) – Gov. Bev Perdue announced over the weekend that nine additional counties that suffered losses during Hurricane Irene are now eligible for federal disaster assistance. To date 35 counties have been approved for individual assistance, and 36 counties have been approved for public assistance.

The latest counties to be added for individual assistance are Wayne and Pender.  Families and business owners in Wayne and Pender counties can now seek low-interest loans or grants to help them recover from Irene.

Seven other counties are now eligible for public assistance. They include Gates, Hertford, Johnston, Northampton, Sampson, Warren and Washington. Those counties can now seek aid covering the costs of storm response, debris removal and infrastructure repairs.

"We will keep aggressively pursuing any assistance we can to help return families to their homes and return businesses to normal operation," said Gov. Perdue.

The counties previously approved for individual assistance are: Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington and Wilson.

The counties previously approved for public assistance are: Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Greene, Halifax, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Wayne and Wilson.