AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for a disaster declaration for communities affected by severe thunderstorms, large hail, and damaging winds that occurred on April 28. Counties included in the declaration are Hidalgo County and its contiguous counties: Brooks, Cameron, Kenedy, Starr, and Willacy counties.
“This disaster declaration will help South Texas communities affected by storm damage last month receive critical financial assistance needed to recover,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration to determine that the eligibility requirements were met for Hidalgo County and surrounding counties. Working together, Texas will continue to provide support and assistance for our homeowners and businesses as they rebuild and recover from storm damage.”
With this approval, the SBA granted access to its Physical Disaster Loan program for homes and businesses, as well as its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Local, state, and federal officials conducted an analysis of damage sustained in impacted communities, which verifies that Hidalgo County meets the federally required thresholds for SBA assistance. Officials also reviewed disaster damage information self-reported by Texans through Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) surveys.
The Governor requested this SBA declaration on May 19. On May 10, Governor Abbott issued a disaster declaration for impacted residents in South Texas that suffered damage to homes and businesses. Last month, the Governor directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources and increase the readiness level of the State Operations Center to support requests for assistance from local officials as severe storms moved through the state.
SBA loan applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at disasterloanassistance. sba.gov. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@ sba. gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.
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