Governor Roy Cooper announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration has granted his request for a disaster declaration for Mecklenburg County and Catawba County, and the contiguous counties of Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, and Union. Dozens of homes in these areas were flooded after recent heavy rains.
“This declaration is good news for people who need help recovering,” said Governor Cooper.
An initial damage assessment from the June 6 storms found floods and heavy winds blocked roads and caused major damage to more than 50 homes and businesses in Catawba and Mecklenburg counties.
SBA loans are designed to help home and business owners where insurance does not fully cover the cost of repairs to a home or business. The loans can also be used to reduce the economic injury, or replace machinery, equipment and inventory loss caused by the storm.
Disaster Recovery Centers will be open at these locations for affected residents to submit applications from July 2, 2019 through July 11, 2019. Hours will be 9 AM to 6 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 1 PM on Saturday. Centers will be closed on July 4, 2019.
• Catawba County Disaster Recovery Center: Springs Road Baptist Church 3580 Springs Rd. NE, Hickory, NC
• Mecklenburg County Disaster Recovery Center: Fire Department at 2001 Mt Holly-Huntersville Road, Charlotte
Applicants may apply online now using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoan.sba.gov.
Businesses and individuals may also 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 deaf and hard-of-hearing, or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at sba.gov.
Completed applications should be returned to the Disaster Recovery Centers or mailed to:
U.S. Small Business Administration
Processing and Disbursement Center
14925 Kingsport Road
Fort Worth, TX 76155
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is August 26, 2019. The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 27, 2020.
With the approval of the SBA declaration, the state is also initiating the process for a Type 1 State disaster declaration which may make state funded grants available to eligible affected homeowners.
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