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.
A water level marking left by Hurricane Milton on the door of a business on Saint Armands Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A downed tree is wrapped in insulation material from a nearby condo on Lido Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Chris Amstudz of Lido Key puts back his gate that was damaged by Hurricane Milton on Sarasota County’s barrier islands on Friday, October 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A water level mark is visible as Jodi Frauhiger, manager of the Foxy Lady Clothing store, returns to survey damages left by Hurricane Milton on Saint Armands Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Residents and store owners were allowed to return that day. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Power company workers restore power to customers on Sarasota County’s barrier islands as recovery from Hurricane Milton continues on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
“Bradentrucky” food truck owner, offering free food to Hurricane Milton victims along Cortez Road in Bradenton Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Keisha Swatzell walks through debris left by Hurricane Milton on Saint Armands Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Residents and store owners were allowed to return that day. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
People try to regain a sense of normalcy by going for a walk on the beach after Hurricane Milton in Lido Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Part of a beekeeper’s beehive, filled with bees, lands near stores on Saint Armands Key, one of Sarasota County’s barrier islands, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. The hive was moved from its original home due to the force of Hurricane Milton. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Connor Hughes of Lithia, Fla., moves in deep floodwaters from Hurricane Milton along the Alafia river Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Lithia, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
In an aerial view, beach sand is seen almost to the rooftop of a building after Hurricane Milton passed through the area on Oct. 11, 2024, in Venice, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area of Florida, causing damage and flooding throughout Central Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A man who identified himself as Jesse walks out through floodwaters of the Anclote River after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
This image taken from Deland Police bodycam shows DeLand police and fire crews conduct water rescues after Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in DeLand, Fla. (City of DeLand, Fla., via AP)
A Spring Oaks resident checks out the rising floodwaters from the Little Wekiva River on Spring Oaks Blvd. in his neighborhood in Altamonte Springs, Fla., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Central Florida rivers are forecast to crest in the coming days because of the excessive rainfall from Hurricane Milton. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
The damaged roof of Ron and Jean Dyer’s beachfront condo at Bahia Vista Gulf is seen alongside the sand-swamped Jetty Villas, after the passage of Hurricane Milton, on the island of Venice, Fla., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Damage from Hurricane Milton in Englewood, Fla. on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. At least 14 deaths were tied to the hurricane, which scientists said was made more intense by climate change. (Paul Ratje/The New York Times)
A destroyed lifeguard building lays on the beach after Hurricane Milton destroyed it while passing through the area on Oct. 11, 2024, in Venice, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area of Florida, causing damage and flooding throughout Central Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Residents along the Alafia river sit near floodwaters from Hurricane Milton Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Lithia, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The rails of a pool ladder are all that is visible of a pool that was completely filled with sand after the passage of Hurricane Milton, at the beachfront Jetty Villas on the island of Venice, Fla., Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Residents along the Alafia river use a boat as transportation through floodwaters caused by Hurricane Milton Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Lithia, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
A person walks through a flooded street from the rising Anclote River as Florida tries to recover from Hurricane Milton on Oct. 11, 2024 in New Port Richey, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, causing extensive flooding and damage throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
An airplane is flipped upside down at the Venice Municipal Airport after Hurricane Milton passed through the area on Oct. 11, 2024, in Venice, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area of Florida, causing damage and flooding throughout Central Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A U.S. Coast Guard District 7, Air Station Miami 65 helicopter crew rescued a man clinging to a cooler off Longboat Key hours after Hurricane Milton made landfall on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard District 7/Courtesy)
Keith and his wife Angel, check on their sailboat that ended up on the sidewalk near Sarasota Bay after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A man rides his bike along tons of debris left by Hurricane Helene in Siesta Key just hours after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota on Thursday, October 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A boat rests awkwardly at a partially destroyed dock in Siesta Key after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Hundreds of small fish lay dead, washed up in Siesta Key after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Mary Ann and Bruce Weneck, take pictures in front of an uprooted tree near their home in Siesta Key after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Residents walk through debris left by Hurricane Milton in Siesta Key on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A tree lands on a home near Siesta Key in Sarasota where Hurricane Milton made land fall in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A Siesta Key business leaves a message for Hurricane Milton in Sarasota on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage to property and debris after Hurricane Milton in the Rocky Point neighborhood in Stuart, Florida on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Our Community Table food bank packaged meals for storm victims and people without power in Port Salerno, FL. on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Emily Mauri’s destroyed home after Hurricane Milton in the Rocky Point neighborhood in Stuart, Florida on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Donna Clark and her pets are rescued from Hurricane Milton floodwaters by Lakeland Police Department at the Buccaneer Bay mobile home park, in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Rescuers pulled scores of people from flooded or damaged buildings and vehicles on Thursday after Hurricane Milton tore across Florida overnight, ripping the roof off Tropicana Field, slamming a tower crane into a building in St. Petersburg and knocking out power to about a third of the state. (Nicole Craine/The New York Times)
People are rescued from an apartment complex in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Clearwater, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
President Joe Biden speaks and gives an update on the impact and the ongoing response to Hurricane Milton, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Rich Conflitti pulls a coconut that had been blown by the winds from a car on his property, while surveying damage from Hurricane Milton in Port Charlotte, Fla., on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. More than 3.2 million customers were without power in Florida on Thursday afternoon, but efforts to get people to follow evacuation orders and warnings appear to have worked. (Paul Ratje/The New York Times)
Members of the Florida National Guard remove a downed tree in the middle of the road in the Shore Acres community of St. Petersburg, Fla., the day after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A crew rescues residents of an apartment complex from floodwaters in Clearwater, Fla., after Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. After a harrowing night, residents of one apartment building described fleeing a second-floor unit as water rose around them. (Zack Wittman for The New York Times)
A Hyundai Elantra belonging to Kathryn Tapper was flipped during a tornado on Meadow Brook Street in Wellington, even landing on the roof, before being removed by emergency crews on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. Tapper, who lives in Naples, stayed with her friend Yolanda Nesmit to try to escape Hurricane Milton. (Scott Travis/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Governor Ron DeSantis holds a press conference on Hurricane Milton response outside of what remains of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Pierce, FL. on Thursday October 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office lays toppled in Fort Pierce, FL. on Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Signage at the entrance to the parking lot of Tropicana Field where the roof was torn off during Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Outside the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, which lays toppled in Fort Pierce, FL. on Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A search and rescue worker walks through damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage from suspected tornadoes that ripped through the Spanish Lakes County Club Village in Fort Pierce, that spun off of Hurricane Milton overnight on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Tornado damage is evident at the Publix at Avenir Town Center in Palm Beach Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A home in the Avenir housing community in Palm Beach Gardens is shown with apparent tornado damage on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A shop at Avenir Town Center in Palm Beach Gardens is shown with apparent tornado damage on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Tornado damage is evident at the Publix at Avenir Town Center in Palm Beach Gardens on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shops at Avenir Town Center in Palm Beach Gardens are shown with apparent tornado damage on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Shane Ostrander looks for his cell phone in what remains of his home that was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in the Holiday Pines neighborhood of Fort Pierce on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage left behind by Hurricane Milton in the Holiday Pines neighborhood of Fort Pierce on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage left behind by Hurricane Milton in Fort Pierce on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage left behind by Hurricane Milton in the Holiday Pines neighborhood of Fort Pierce on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Damage left behind by Hurricane Milton in the Holiday Pines neighborhood of Fort Pierce on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The roof of Tropicana Field was torn off during Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
The roof of Tropicana Field was torn off during Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
In this aerial view, flood waters inundate a neighborhood after Hurricane Milton came ashore on Oct. 10, 2024, in Punta Gorda, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area of Florida, causing damage and flooding throughout Central Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Herbert Frank of Wellington caught a tornado on camera from his backyard as bands from Hurricane Milton moved over north Palm Beach County on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Herbert Frank/Courtesy)
A construction crane fell over into an office building that houses the Tampa Bay Times headquarters, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Tampa Bay Times via AP)
An aerial view of Tropicana Field’s shredded roof in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., in the wake of Hurricane Milton early Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Drone images above Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, show the shredded roof of the dome and the cots on the field, set up for first responders, among the debris, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A construction crane fell over into an office building that houses the Tampa Bay Times headquarters, after Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Tampa Bay Times via AP)
A billboard structure is seen after it was uprooted during Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Clearwater, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
This photo provided by Orange County Fire Rescue Department shows OCFRD along with OCSO working on water rescues after Hurricane Milton early Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Orange County, Fla. (Orange County Fire Rescue Department via AP)
Small boats rests on a pier after they were unmoored during Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
A woman moves storm debris on a flooded street in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, 2024 in Osprey, Florida. The hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
In this aerial view, flood waters inundate a neighborhood after Hurricane Milton came ashore on Oct. 10, 2024, in Punta Gorda, Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Siesta Key area of Florida, causing damage and flooding throughout Central Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Cattle graze near a greenhouse damaged by Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Odessa, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The Ponce De Leon Hotel sign fell to the ground after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in St Petersburg. (Lauren Peace/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Beth Brunsman, in pink, surveys her front yard where a large live oak tree came down when a tornado tore through the Binks Estate neighborhood in Wellington on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Debris in the Binks Estate neighborhood in Wellington on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, after a tornado tore through overnight. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
High water is seen on Hillsborough street in the aftermath of hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Small boats rests on a peer after they were unmoored during Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Debris along Commonwealth Drive clogs the roadway after Hurricane Milton made landfall nearby Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Siesta Key, Fla. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Debris and an awning of a gas station sits on the ground the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Damage to a mobile home in Harbor Lights Club, a mobile home park is shown on Long Bayou in St. Petersburg, Fla. after Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, 2024. (Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Boats are stacked up at Marina Jack in Sarasota following Hurricane on Milton’s landfall. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Joe Lindquist, 32, of St. Petersburg, walks over bricks near a fallen crane along 1st Avenue South near the Tampa Bay Times offices in St. Petersburg, Florida, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, as Hurricane Milton’s strong winds tore through the area. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
MD. Arifuzzaman/Courtesy
Herbert Frank of Wellington caught a tornado on camera from his backyard as bands from Hurricane Milton moved over north Palm Beach County on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Herbert Frank/Courtesy)
A tornado captured on a Florida Department of Transportation traffic camera near Alligator Alley (I-75) in Broward County on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. South Florida braces for impact from Hurricane Milton. (Florida Department of Transportation/Courtesy)
Wind and rain batter the area as Hurricane Milton approaches on Oct. 9, 2024 in Sarasota, Florida. Milton, which comes just after the recent catastrophic hurricane Helene, will hit Florida’s central Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall with destructive winds and flooding. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Palm trees blow in the wind as Florida feels the effects of Hurricane Milton in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Milton crashed ashore Wednesday evening on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall near Sarasota as the second powerful hurricane to pound the region in less than two weeks. (Callaghan OÕHare/The New York Times)
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