Small Business Administration loan program available to WV residents affected by August flood

West Virginians affected by severe storms and flooding in August still have time to apply for federal assistance through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Recovery.

The federal government approved a disaster declaration for Kanawha, Fayette and Harrison counties in West Virginia after severe storms Aug. 14 through 18 caused flooding and damage. 

The Office of Disaster Recovery works alongside the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer low-interest loans to those affected after a presidential disaster declaration. 

“What that means is those people, whether they’re residents, business owners, renters or nonprofits, are eligible for the full breadth of SBA’s disaster relief program or disaster assistance program,” said Patty Hartman, a public affairs officer for the Office of Disaster Recovery.

More than a dozen applications have been submitted so far, she said.

SBA’s program differs from FEMA in that it’s a loan program. Loans start at 3% for homeowners and 4% for business owners, and can be carried for up to 30 years, Hartman said. 

“The purpose is so that it’s not a heavy burden,” Hartman said. “If you’re trying to put your home or your business back together from the physical damage that was suffered from a disaster, and your insurance company won’t cover it, or won’t cover all of it, or maybe you don’t have insurance, this allows you to try to put the pieces back together without it being too heavy of a burden.”

In the three counties with a disaster declaration, affected residents are eligible for physical damage loans and economic injury disaster loans.

Counties that are adjacent to Kanawha, Fayette and Harrison counties are eligible for the SBA’s economic injury disaster loan program. Those counties include: Barbour, Boone, Clay, Doddridge,  Greenbrier, Jackson, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Taylor,  Upshur and Wetzel.

The economic injury disaster loan program is for small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, and nonprofits that had economic injury from the storms but weren’t directly hit. 

“(For instance if) they couldn’t get their product to or from a primary county, or they couldn’t get their staff to or from a primary county, and they suffered business losses as a result of that, and they need to recoup that money, they can apply for an economic injury disaster loan,” Hartman said. 

Applications can be completed online at sba.gov/disaster. People can call the SBA at 800-659-2955 or email [email protected] for assistance.

For in-person help, residents and businesses can stop by or make an appointment at the Business Recovery Center, 1116 Smith Street in Charleston. The Recovery Center is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Affected businesses and homeowners in primary counties have until Dec. 7 to apply for help with physical damage. The deadline for the economic injury program is July 7.