WASHINGTON (AP) - Oneida County is among the 10 in New York designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as natural disaster areas due to excessive rain, flooding, hail, wind, cold and tornadoes between April 1 and Aug. 30.

The other counties are Fulton, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Orleans, Rockland, Suffolk, Wayne and Wyoming.

The Department of Agriculture also has designated 20 counties as disaster areas due to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Those counties are: Albany, Broome, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Herkimer, Lewis, Montgomery, Otsego, Putnam, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington and Westchester.

Six counties were declared disaster areas for heat and drought in July through August. They are Ontario, Wayne, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, and Yates.

Farmers can apply for low-interest loans to cover their losses.