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GULFPORT, ILL. -- Two years after a flood wiped out the town of Gulfport, Illinois, residents are finally receiving some financial aid.

Seven point five million dollars will be given to restore housing and build the city back up again.

It's the single largest award that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has given to a community...

"Gulfport and Henderson County was really Ground Zero. It was the epicenter and it was the most significantly devastated community, so it's a first step of our help to allow the residents to rebuild their lives," said Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Warren Ribley.

But it took two years for the government to act and for the money to come...

"It was an award that came through Congress. We had to submit a plan to the US Department of HUD. They had to review the plan, had to approve the plan. I feel bad for the resident's sake that it has taken this long but there's just a number of steps that we had to go through," said Ribley.

The next step is to work with the county to determine where residents will be relocated. The county will assist in infrastructure and economic recovery of small businesses that were affected.

"I hope that there's a future here for Gulfport to rebuild and the people to return to this area. And I hope that the state and federal government is able to do something with the levees so we have protection in the future," said resident Tony Wallace.

The rebuilding will start win an application and appraisal process. That will determine the value of the homes. The residents will then be reimbursed by the county for the buyout.

Gulfport isn't the only town to receive aid from the IKE Disaster Recovery fund.

41 other counties in Illinois received a total of more than $169 million.