Governor Tom Wolf announced today that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved a recent request to make financial aid available to residents of Tioga county following severe storms that caused flash flooding and significant damage on August 18. Residents and businesses in the neighboring counties of Bradford, Lycoming, and Potter can also apply for aid.
“Increasingly often, our communities are being affected by fast moving and highly localized storms that end with flash flooding and the damage uniquely associated with this risk,” said Gov. Wolf. “The changing nature of storm threats in the commonwealth have made recovery difficult for many, and we hope this first step will assist those affected in getting back to normal.”
Low-interest loans of up to $200,000 are available to homeowners and renters to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, and SBA regulations also permit loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged personal property, including vehicles. Businesses and nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million to restore damaged or destroyed buildings, inventory, equipment and other physical losses. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are also available and may also be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact, whether or not the business sustained physical damage from the storm.
The SBA offers long-term repayment options to keep payments affordable, with terms up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
The SBA will open a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) in Tioga County to provide in-person assistance for those wishing to apply, and anyone from any county included in the disaster declaration can visit the DLOC location. However, businesses and individuals may immediately obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailing DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
Tioga County: Knoxville Community Building 301 East Main St. Knoxville, PA 16928
Tentative Hours of Operation: Wednesday, Sept. 8: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 pm Thursday – Friday, Sept. 9 – Sept. 10: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (This is the only Saturday) Sunday, Sept. 12: CLOSED Monday – Wednesday, Sept. 13 – Sept. 15: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Alternatively, loan applications can be downloaded at sba.gov/disaster and completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The SBA has created a number of fact sheets to help applicants understand the SBA loan process:
