Deadline looming to apply for hurricane disaster loan relief

Deadline looming to apply for hurricane disaster loan relief

The deadline for Florida residents and businesses impacted by the rapid succession of 2024 hurricanes to apply for federal disaster loans is Tuesday.

The U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loans are intended to help Floridians recover from Hurricane Milton, which slammed into the state last October, causing wind destruction, storm surge, tornadoes and flash flooding.

Those impacted by hurricanes Debbie (which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in August along Florida’s Gulf Coast) and Helene (which bore down on Florida’s Panhandle in September) are also encouraged to apply for help.

Palm Beach County is among the lengthy list of Florida counties eligible for physical damage loans, and so also eligible to apply for a loan for mitigation for a future event.

 

Economic injury only loans are available for Broward and Miami-Dade counties “to help businesses keep going,” said John Oliver Frederick, the spokesman for the Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

That deadline is July 11.

The SBA sets the installment payment amount and maturity date based upon each borrower’s ability to repay. The interest rate depends on whether the borrower has access to other lines of credit.

Frederick said he urges Floridians to “use this as your safety net.” No payment is due the first year.

“We know you’re getting your things together, this is just a safety net so you can get your life pre-hurricane back to the way it was,” he said Monday.

Applications for disaster loans may be submitted online using the MySBA Loan Portal at https://lending.sba.gov. Call 800-659-2955 for information.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash

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