It took just hours for torrential rains to wash away road surfaces, sweep away cars and flood homes in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties June 17.

Now comes the agonizing wait to hear from federal agencies as to whether the damage was severe enough to warrant federal assistance.

Gov. Ed Rendell issued a disaster proclamation for the two counties June 29, which will allow state agencies to bypass certain bidding processes to speed repairs.

After a request from the governor, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency toured flood-ravaged communities in eastern Allegheny County and western Westmoreland County to assess the damage.

In Westmoreland, they toured North Huntingdon, Murrysville, Export, Penn Township, Penn Borough, Jeannette, Hempfield and Irwin, said Frank Ferreira, a spokesman for FEMA's Region III office.

Daniel Stevens, a spokesman for the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety, said his agency counted more than 1,000 structures that were affected by the storm. That included 81 single-family homes, four multi-family homes and 27 businesses that received what the agency classifies as "major" damage.

In Allegheny County, officials saw Turtle Creek, Churchill, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Pitcairn, Wilkins and the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh.

In a letter to President Barack Obama following the assessments, Mr. Rendell stressed that many of those affected by the storm were financially vulnerable and will struggle to get back on their feet.

Roughly four out of five people affected by the storm in both counties have low incomes. Of those affected, about 1 percent in Allegheny County and 18 percent in Westmoreland have flood insurance.

Help from FEMA could come in many forms. Depending on the federal declaration the counties receive, individuals could be offered grants or low-interest loans to help repair their homes and businesses.

Municipalities also could be offered money to defray the costs of damage to infrastructure, such as roads or bridges.

Mr. Stevens doesn't believe the damage was bad enough to warrant infrastructural funds in Westmoreland, meaning that even tiny municipalities will get no help in paying for costly repairs.

"Those [costs] can be astronomical, but there wasn't enough damage across the board to add up to the dollar amount they need federally for public infrastructure funds," he said.

Mr. Ferreira said the assessments taken by FEMA are still under review and he couldn't say when the counties would learn how much money they or their residents would be eligible to receive.