Disaster assistance available for 6 Georgia counties after April 2 storms
Rockdale County tornado damage north of I-20
ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - Residents and businesses affected by the recent severe storms and flooding in several Georgia counties on April 2 now have access to low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The affected counties include Dekalb, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Rockdale, and Walton.
To assist those seeking assistance, the SBA will open a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) starting on April 16 at the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency. This center will provide support to individuals and businesses applying for SBA disaster loan assistance.
The SBA declaration for Rockdale County and the surrounding five counties was issued following a request made by Gov. Brian Kemp's authorized representative and Valarie Grooms, the Deputy Director of Recovery at the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS). This declaration makes all counties in the affected area eligible for Physical Damage disaster loans for homes and businesses, as well as Economic Injury disaster loans for businesses.
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Applicants can apply for assistance online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) on the SBA's secure website at https://lending.sba.gov/. For further assistance, individuals can contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center by email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or by phone at 1-800-659-2955.
The DLOC at the Rockdale County Emergency Management Agency will be open from April 16 from noon to 6 p.m. Its regular operating hours will be Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with the exception of April 20 when it will be closed). The center will be closed every Sunday. It will remain open until May 2 at 4 p.m.
The deadline to return applications for Physical Damage disaster loans is June 11, 2024, while the deadline for Economic Injury disaster loan applications is January 13, 2025.