The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses, nonprofits, and residents in Louisiana of the upcoming deadline to apply for federal disaster loans. These loans are intended to address physical damage caused by severe storms and flooding from March 29 to April 2.
The affected areas include the Louisiana parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. Landry, and Vermilion.
Eligible small businesses and nonprofits can apply for business physical disaster loans up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory, and other assets. Homeowners and renters may apply for loans up to $100,000 for personal property replacement or repair. Additionally, homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for primary residence repairs.
Applicants might qualify for a loan increase of up to 20% of their verified physical damage for mitigation purposes. Improvements could involve strengthening structures against high winds or installing storm shelters.
Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA stated: “One distinct advantage of SBA’s disaster loan program is the opportunity to fund upgrades reducing the risk of future storm damage.” He encouraged collaboration with contractors and mitigation professionals for enhanced storm readiness.
The SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is also available for eligible small businesses and private nonprofit organizations impacted financially by this disaster. However, agricultural producers such as farmers or ranchers are not eligible unless they are involved in aquaculture enterprises.
Interest rates are set at 4% for small businesses, 3.62% for nonprofits, and 2.75% for homeowners and renters with terms extending up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue nor are payments due until one year after the first loan disbursement.
Applications can be submitted online at sba.gov/disaster or through SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or via email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. For those who require telecommunications relay services due to hearing or speech disabilities, dialing 7-1-1 will provide access.
The deadline for submitting applications related to physical damage is June 16.