ALEXANDRIA, Va.-Even though Hurricane Isabel did not seem to pack quite the punch the East Coast had braced for, NCUA has activated its disaster relief policy to help affected credit unions in the wake of the storm. According to NCUA's announcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. as eligible for aid. NCUA examiners and staff are communicating closely with federal credit unions in those areas to determine immediate needs and provide advice and assistance. NCUA will, as needed, encourage credit unions to make loans with special terms and reduced documentation to members whose homes and property are damaged; reschedule routine examinations; and guarantee lines of credit through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund and the Central Liquidity Facility. NCUA operates under three priorities in disaster conditions: * Ensure the safety of credit union staff. * Keep facilities and operations available to members. * Provide material and technical assistance, as needed, to affected credit unions. CUNA Mutual Media Relations Senior Manager Rick Uhlmann told Credit Union Times that the company has not seen any major claim losses from credit unions due to Isabel. Several credit union branches had some flooding, but most damages have been related to power outages and water damage. “[R]elative to the overall damage caused by the storm, we are seeing minimal claims from credit unions,” he said. Eight losses have been reported so far, and more may “trickle in,” but CUNA Mutual is not expecting any significant numbers. Even though Navy Federal Credit Union's branches in the Virginia Beach area prepared for the worst, all they got was a little soggy. Their power was down for a couple of days, but the branches were up and running again on Monday, Navy Federal Spokesperson Loren Moeller said. An ATM was flooded at the branch at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., but that was the extent of it, she explained, even though the academy itself sustained about $15 million in damages. According to North Carolina League President Larry Johnson, all but a couple of credit unions are in good shape. He said that a handful are still without power, a branch of State Employees Credit Union had “modest damage,” and he had not yet heard from some credit unions in the Elizabeth City area. Johnson added that some employees' homes experienced some damage. The Maryland Credit Union League's JoAnn Stallings said that some credit unions are still closed because of power outages, but the league was unsure of who was still in the dark because a virus hit their e-mail system and shut down access. Virginia Credit Union League CEO Rick Pillow said, “Our initial assessment is pretty good as far as structural damage.” However, hundreds of thousands of Virginia residents were still without power at deadline. The hardest hit Newport News and Hampton areas had some credit union branches up and running and Northern Virginia was looking good, he said. A shared branch in Yorktown was closed as of last Tuesday because the power was still out and shared branches in Chesapeake and Colonial Heights were running off-line. He added that the Washington, D.C. league, which he is also responsible for, reported all but one credit union up and running due to a power outage. [email protected]