U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the agency will provide federal disaster assistance to homeowners and low-income renters in 28 counties in South Dakota following floods that forced people from their homes in March.  President Obama issued a disaster declaration last week for these counties.  The assistance follows the format provided victims of the recent tornadoes in the Southern U.S., as noted in our blog post from May 12.    The provisions include diversion of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program funding to disaster relief; granting a 90-day forbearance on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages now in foreclosure; providing FHA insurance for those who have lost their homes, and 100 percent financing for those eligible for an FHA loan to rebuild or buy; a loan program to rehabilitate a single-family home and make the loan part of a mortgage; and federally-guaranteed loans for state and local governments for housing and economic development, as well as repairing infrastructure.