Loans offered for tornado, storm damage
Local homeowners and others whose property was damaged from the May 15 tornado and severe storms are now eligible for loans to help fix the damage.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved a request from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for disaster assistance in New Haven, Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield and Middlesex counties for both physical and economic damages.
Loans up to $200,000 will be available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, including some debris removal.
“I encourage all interested applicants in the eligible counties to apply as soon as possible to utilize this aid that is being of- fered,” Malloy said while announcing the approval on Wednesday.
Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA will offer Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.
The assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
Applications can be filled out and submitted online through the SBA website at disasterloan.sba.gov. Applications also can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov and mailed to the SBA at U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155.
For more information, call the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. For those deaf or hard of hearing, call 1-800-8778339.
In August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared Fairfield and New Haven counties disaster areas because of the May 15 storms. The declaration allowed state agencies and municipal governments to apply for financial assistance to help pay for the costs incurred for cleanup and replacement from storm damage.