WITH FLOOD AID IN PLACE, FAST DELIVERY IMPORTANT

The $5.7 billion flood-aid package that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Clinton in St. Louis Thursday comes none too soon for displaced homeowners and businesses and cropless farmers ravaged by this year's record flooding along Midwestern rivers.

It was encouraging to see the government respond as expeditiously as it did to the disaster, which is far from being over. Even as the president signed the aid package, the Mississippi River remained well above flood stage. Under the best conditions, it is expected to stay above flood stage at Cape Girardeau well into September.

That means the worst is yet to come for the people whose homes and businesses are still flooded. The unpleasant task of cleaning mud and silt from buildings cannot begin until the river has finally receded. With the aid package in place, the financial aid that is needed for flood victims to put their lives back together should be accessible to those who will need it.

Even if their fields were dry today, it is too late for farmers within the flood plains to plant crops, and crops that were planted before the flood are ruined. Sadly, some farmers planted in May when floodwaters receded following one of eight crests along the Mississippi this year, only to have those crops wiped out by subsequent flooding. Those farmers whose crops were lost suffered a double whammy: they will have no crops to sell and must bear the cost of planting.

The aid package includes $2.4 billion for the Commodity Credit Corporation, which will dispense disaster payments to farmers for crop losses. It gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency $2 billion for direct aid to flood victims, and $75 million goes to Health and Human Services to help victims and volunteers cope with physical- and mental-health problems that develop as sanitary conditions deteriorate once floodwaters recede and cleanup begins.

These are just a few of the assistance programs included in the relief package. There also is funding for temporary jobs during cleanup; levee, road, rail and bridge repairs; and repairs to and new construction of local public facilities.

Flood victims themselves are responsible for activating the process that will deliver the aid to them by contacting FEMA.

With some hitches along the way, the government acted responsibly in moving ahead on the flood-relief package. With the money now available, we hope that it reaches those who need it as quickly as the aid programs will allow.