Comunicado de Prensa en español
On Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Governor signed a Type I state disaster declaration for Gaston County and contiguous counties that suffered damage from two EF-1 tornadoes and severe weather on May 8, 2024. This declaration authorized state funds be made available for emergency assistance in the form of individual assistance, in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 166A-19.41.
State Individual Assistance resources are for homeowners and renters whose primary residences were damaged or destroyed as a result of this severe weather event. For more information on State Individual Assistance, please click here.
Also on May 23, 2024, Governor Cooper requested that the U.S. Small Business Administration declare a disaster and provide survivors with the provisions of the SBA disaster loan program, found in 13 C.F.R. Part 123.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Tuesday, May 28, 2024 that federal loans are available for homeowners, renters, businesses, agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations with economic losses due to the severe storms and tornadoes on May 8, 2024. The declaration includes Gaston County and the contiguous North Carolina counties of Cleveland, Lincoln, and Mecklenburg, as well as York County in South Carolina.
A Disaster Loan Outreach Center will be open Thursday, May 30 through Thursday, June 13, 2024. The hours are Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be closed on Sunday. The center will be located at:
Citizens Resource Center
1303 Dallas Cherryville HWY
Dallas, NC 28034
North Carolina Emergency Management will have Individual Assistance Program staff co-located with the SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center for the convenience of disaster survivors navigating the intake process.
The available SBA loans include:
- Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans up to $2 million are available to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery, and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible. Loan amounts cannot exceed the verified uninsured disaster.
- Business Loan Ceiling – The $2 million statutory limit for business loans applies to the combination of physical, economic injury, mitigation, and refinancing, and applies to all disaster loans to a business and its affiliates for each disaster. If a business is a major source of employment, SBA has the authority to waive the $2 million statutory limit.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans up to $2 million are available to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.
The actual amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by SBA, less business interruption insurance, and other recoveries up to the administrative lending limit. EIDL assistance is available only to entities and their owners who cannot provide for their own recovery from non-government sources, as determined by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
- Home Disaster Loans – Loans up to $500,000 are available to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and $100,000 to repair or replace personal property, including automobiles. Loan amounts cannot exceed the verified uninsured disaster loss.
Loan applicants should check with agencies / organizations administering any grant or other assistance program under this declaration to determine how an approval of SBA disaster loan might affect their eligibility. Loan approvals are subject to credit approval and applicants must show the ability to repay the loans.
Individuals that do not qualify for SBA loan assistance may qualify for State Individual Assistance programs.
Loan Application Deadlines:
- Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: July 23, 2024.
- Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: February 24, 2025.
For more information or to apply:
- Visit the MySBA Loan Portal at https://lending.sba.gov to apply for a disaster assistance loan.
- Call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955
- Email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov
- For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
- Email IArecovery@ncdps.gov for information on the State Individual Assistance Program through North Carolina Emergency Management.