SBA Opens Disaster Loan Outreach Centers; Urges Return of SBA Disaster Loan Applications

-(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Small Business Administration announces today that they are establishing two Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs); one in Carroll County Annex and the other in Stephens County Court House Annex. The establishment of the Centers demonstrates SBA’s commitment to ensure that every qualified individual and business receives the help they need to recover from this disaster.

“Assisting individuals and business owners to recover from a disaster is our primary mission,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA Field Operations Center East. “We are encouraging anyone affected by this disaster to visit a center while we still have staff here and obtain individual assistance with completing their loan applications from our representatives.”

Many residents and businesses that have registered with FEMA for assistance have received an SBA disaster loan application. Completing the loan application and returning it is a crucial step toward disaster recovery. Homeowners and renters unable to obtain a disaster loan from the SBA may be referred to FEMA for grant consideration. To be eligible for these grants, applicants must submit their SBA loan application even if they do not want a loan. No one is required to accept a loan.

The locations of the Centers are as follows:

SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs)
Carroll County			Stephens County
Carroll County Annex			Stephens County Court House Annex
423 College Street			37 West Tugalo Street
Carrollton, GA 30117			Toccoa, GA 30577
Opens: Monday, October 12, 2009 at 8 a.m.			Opens: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 8 a.m.
Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday - Friday			Hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday - Friday

“Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property,” Skaggs added.

Businesses of any size and non-profit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, inventory, machinery and equipment. The 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 from occurring in the future.

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

Interest rates are as low as 2.750 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4.000 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.

Anyone unable to visit one of the Centers may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (or 1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired) Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT, (including the holiday, Monday October 12) or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications may be downloaded from www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Applications may be returned to one of the Disaster Recovery Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas, 76155.

Georgia residents affected by this disaster may fill out a loan application online by visiting SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is November 23, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 24, 2010.

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Governor Perdue Issues State of Emergency for 17 Georgia Counties

Late this afternoon, after viewing storm damage in Douglas and Paulding counties from the air, Governor Sonny Perdue issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties affected by heavy rain and severe weather that passed through Georgia. The counties are Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker counties.

“Mary and I are saddened by the human cost the recent storms have wrought,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We are currently focused on rescuing victims of the storms targeting Georgia and preventing further damage. State personnel and equipment are being deployed to assist effected communities. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is coordinating our response and managing the State Operations Center, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Protection Division (EPD) are deploying boats, high-water vehicles, and testing water. Other state agencies are deploying manpower and additional resources.”
State agency responses include:

Georgia Forestry Commission- Manpower and debris clearance, water tanker for Douglas County Hospital, water tender strike teams for structural fire support

Georgia State Patrol - Law enforcement for traffic control, road closures, helicopters

Department of Transportation - Road closure signs, bridge inspection, detours

Department of Human Services- Hospital coordination, shelter coordination, boil water advisories

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Division- Boats, high water vehicles, manpower, water rescue, dam inspections, haz mat spill assistance, water testing
Department of Agriculture- Large animal evacuations and pet sheltering

Georgia Emergency Management Agency - Response coordination, running State Operations Center, damage reports, public information, situation reports, resource coordination, field response

“The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) will work with state agencies, utility companies and volunteer organizations to coordinate disaster response and recovery activities and serve our citizens,” said GEMA Director Charley English.

GEMA is the lead state agency for coordination of emergency and disaster response activities. For more emergency information, visit GEMA's Web site at www.gema.ga.gov. To learn how to prepare for disaster, visit www.ready.ga.gov.
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