SBA Services Available To West Virginia Disaster Areas 

CHARLESTON, W.VA. — West Virginia residents and businesses in flood-damaged counties still have time to apply for disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is July 14, 2009.   The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 15, 2010.

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate.  Homeowners and renters are eligible up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.  SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage in the future.

For small businesses, and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 2.437 percent for homeowners and renters and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, applicants must first call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).  Additional details on the locations of Disaster Recovery Centers and the loan application process can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or by emailing the SBA customer service center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Victims may also apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

Because delay may cause them to miss filing deadlines, disaster victims should not wait to receive contractor estimates or to settle insurance claims before applying for disaster loan assistance. If applicants do not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, the SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use the insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the SBA loan.

Several Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) are now open in the impacted counties to help residents get the assistance they need. A Business Recovery Center in Gilbert, Mingo County, will focus on business recovery efforts. The centers will process applications and refer them as needed to the West Virginia Small Business Development Centers (SBDC).

Recovery centers are open in the following locations:

FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)

Open Monday-Saturday from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

  SBA Business Recovery Center (BRC)

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