Dane County suffered an estimated $77.7 million in damage from the storms and flooding earlier this month, the county emergency management office reported Friday.

That includes an estimated $64.6 million in agricultural losses and $6.8 million in damages to 2,362 residences.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has already done its preliminary assessment of damages, but people who had storm-related damage are strongly encouraged to report it to local authorities, the emergency management office said.

Meanwhile, FEMA community relations workers are now knocking on the doors of people affected by the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding.

Experienced teams, wearing dark blue FEMA shirts and carrying photo identification, are visiting churches, homes and businesses in neighborhoods with damage. These teams will canvas the 19 Wisconsin counties now eligible for FEMA 's Individuals and Households Program assistance.

"We rely on our community relations staff to get the word out and find out firsthand the losses communities and individuals are dealing with, " said Federal Coordinating Officer Dolph Diemont. "These teams will stay in the field as long as they are needed. To help the information exchange along, some team members speak both Spanish and English. "

Residents and businesses in the 19 declared counties -- Columbia, Crawford, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Iowa, Kenosha, Marquette, Milwaukee, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Vernon, Washington, Waukesha and Winnebago -- are eligible to apply for grants and low-interest loans for qualified damages and losses directly caused by the storms that began affecting the state on June 5.

Individuals may apply for disaster assistance by calling 800-621-FEMA or online at www.fema.gov . Those with hearing or speech impairments may call 800-462-7585. Both phone numbers and the Web services are available 24 hours a day until further notice.

FEMA will open a new disaster recovery center in Portage today at Portage High School, 301 E. Collins St.

Red Cross and Columbia County Health and Human Services staff will be at the center to assist those affected by flooding. The center 's hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call Columbia County Emergency Management at 742-4166 for details.

The worst is over

Gov. Jim Doyle said the state is moving out of the crisis caused by severe flooding and into a stage of assessing damage and cleaning up.

"We 're moving out of the emergency stage, " he said Friday after touring the hard-hit Jefferson County cities of Fort Atkinson and Jefferson in a National Guard helicopter. Earlier in the day he toured Janesville and Beloit in Rock County.

Doyle predicted Jefferson County and four others would soon be declared federal disaster areas, joining 19 other Wisconsin counties.

That designation allows people to apply for federal assistance for things such as home repair and temporary housing costs.

Disaster unemployment assistance also is available to people who lost jobs because of the floods and don 't qualify for other unemployment benefits.

Highways open

Southbound Interstate 39 near Portage in Columbia County has been opened, making most of the state 's Interstate system and major highways clear for traffic, officials said Friday.

The speed limit through the area is 55 mph, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The DOT advises people headed north to use I-39-90 from Beloit and Interstate 43 from Milwaukee to reach their destinations.

Highway 33 between Baraboo and I-39 also is open, though Highway 33 between I-39 and Portage is closed indefinitely.

Agriculture help

Next week the Senate will consider more than $480 million in funding for agriculture in response to flooding in the Midwest.

The package offers assistance with rehabilitating farmland and rebuilding infrastructure. Included is more than $89 million for emergency conservation and $390 million for emergency watershed protection such as rebuilding dams and levees.