Alachua County has received a disaster declaration from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) following the damages caused by Tropical Storm Elsa. As a result, the SBA is offering disaster loan assistance to those whose homes or businesses have been damaged by the storm. The application filing deadline for physical damage loans is September 20, 2021, and the deadline for economic injury loans is April 22, 2022.
Those with damage from Tropical Storm Elsa can find out more about the types of loans available online. Home and business owners may apply online for disaster loans through the
Small Business Administration website. Completed applications can be submitted online or mailed to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Those who need assistance filling out the online application can contact the Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center (VDLOC) at 800-659-2955 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (seven days a week) or
FOCE-Help@sba.gov.
For more information, contact the SBA’s Customer Service Center at
disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call 800-877-8339.