After tallying up tens of millions in damages, the federal government will be coming in to help residents and municipal officials defray the costs of Hurricane Sandy.

Julie Willmot, spokeswoman for Mercer County, put the cost to governments here at more than $27 million already. She said the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, will provide financial assistance to governments and individuals up to 75 percent of the costs.

She said the county, along with the rest of the state, has been declared a major disaster area following inspections by FEMA officials after the storm.

The federal individual benefits will help residents who suffered damage from the storm to their property, or incurred expenses such as temporary housing, Willmot said.

“We appreciate FEMA’s swift response to Mercer County and the time they have devoted to touring,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes in a release over the weekend. “We were able to point out the widespread destruction of Hurricane Sandy, and we believe that Mercer County residents should receive the same opportunity to apply for these federal benefits to begin putting their lives and property back together,” Hughes added.

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