The number of people who are getting unemployment checks because of the recent flooding is now expected to double original projections.

Disaster unemployment extends the $275-a-week checks to people who typically aren’t eligible. Labor Department spokesman Jeff Hentschel says more than 340 are already receiving checks and as many as 400 are now expected to qualify – twice the initial projections.

“They’re not employees of a company, so they tend to be people like farmers, sole proprietors, business partners. These are people who are generally not covered by unemployment insurance.”

People who’ve been around the state’s Labor Department for decades say they’ve never handled a disaster like the recent flooding. Hentschel says predicting how many might need unemployment checks was impossible.

“We really have been surprised because historically we’ve dealt with very isolated incidents, when you’re talking about some of the tornadoes we’ve had in past years have hit very isolated areas. And we’re looking at the impact of half the state.”

Workers who are out of a job because their employer had to shut down or suspend operation are eligible even without the disaster declaration. So far, more than 4,000 flood related unemployment claims have been processed by the state.

The federal government pays for those who wouldn’t otherwise qualify. Everyone else relies on the state’s unemployment trust fund. Those 4,000 people will stretch the fund, which has had to borrow money this year to remain solvent. But Hentschel says the flood won’t break the trust fund. He says the additional payouts are manageable considering the state is already writing checks to 130,000 people a week.

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The following counties have a June 7, 2010, deadline for filing for DUA unemployment claims: Benton, Carroll, Cheatham, Crockett, Davidson, Decatur, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Madison, Maury, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Tipton and Williamson.

The following counties have a June 9, 2010, deadline for filing for DUA unemployment claims: Chester, Clay, DeKalb, Hardin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Macon, Robertson, Smith, Stewart, Trousdale, Wayne and Wilson.

The following counties have a June 21, 2010, deadline for filing for DUA unemployment claims: Cannon, Giles, and Marshall.

More information is available through the Department of Labor.