Victims of the Nov. 29 tornado in Starkville have until Feb. 7 to apply for disaster recovery loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration, but the Administration”s local Disaster Loan Outreach Center only will be open for two more days.
The Outreach Center, located in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse annex at 108 W. Main St. in Starkville, will be open Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After Tuesday, tornado victims can still apply for loans on the U.S. Small Business Administration”s website, www.sba.gov, or by calling 1-800-659-2955.
“I know that some folks have been declined for the Small Business Administration loan program, but everybody really needs to apply for this if they have the ability because these are the only governmental resources that are going to be available to people,” Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Public Information Officer Greg Flynn said Friday when discussing the disaster assistance loan program. “There are no (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funds for this one, unlike the April storms (when tornadoes killed 10 people in Mississippi and damaged portions of Oktibbeha County), because this was not a large enough disaster to cripple an entire city or county by federal guidelines. Anybody who still needs assistance should apply for this disaster recovery loan.”
MEMA workers are manning the U.S. Small Business Administration”s Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Starkville.
Individuals can receive loans up to $200,000, while businesses are eligible for loans up to $2 million, Flynn said. Interest for the loans can be as low as 2 percent for individuals, 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses, Flynn said.
“It”s a really good deal,” he said. “It doesn”t matter if you had insurance pay you off or not. You don”t have to wait for insurance to pay you off to apply.”
Fifteen people were injured in Oktibbeha County when an EF-2 tornado touched down late Nov. 29 and devastated The Pines mobile home park on Louisville Street, about 1/4 mile south of Starkville High School. Fifteen homes in The Pines were destroyed by the storm, 18 more sustained major damage, 20 received minor damage and 44 others were affected, according to MEMA.
HOW TO SIGN UP
· The U.S. Small Business Administration”s Disaster Loan Outreach Center will be open Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse annex, located at 108 W. Main St., Starkville.
· Tornado victims also can apply for disaster recovery loans at www.sba.gov, or by calling 1-800-659-2955 or 1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.