The Federal Emergency Management Agency has closed its disaster recovery centers that were set up across Southwest Virginia in response to widespread flooding and wind damage caused by Hurricane Helene. One recovery center, managed by the Small Business Administration, remains open.
The SBA’s walk-in business recovery center is open in Galax from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is located at the Crossroads Institute at 1117 E. Stuart Drive. Residents seeking assistance can apply in person at that location. Applications can also be made at www.sba.gov/disaster, and questions can be answered by calling 800-659-2955.
Mark Kulda, SBA spokesperson, said people seeking assistance should apply, regardless of whether Congress has voted to replenish the agency’s coffers and regardless of the agency’s previous Dec. 2 application deadline.
“There is still 60 days [after Dec. 2] for them to even start a new application,” Kulda said in a phone call on Tuesday. “We don’t want the [Congressional] funding issue to discourage anybody from applying for the assistance that might be available to them.”
Virginia’s U.S. senators are hopeful that disaster relief will be included in short-term government funding legislation that the Senate will vote on next week. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., stressed the urgency of passing the supplemental disaster funding package in the U.S. Senate during a press briefing on Tuesday. The office of Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said Tuesday that they also expect disaster relief to hit the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote next week.
Who can apply for assistance through SBA?
Small business owners aren’t the only people who can apply for Helene-related assistance through the SBA. Homeowners, renters and nonprofits can apply for help as well. The SBA provides low-interest disaster loans of up to $500,000 for physical damage to property for property owners and up to $100,000 for the replacement of contents for homeowners and renters.
The SBA can also provide businesses with low-interest disaster loans to cover both physical damage and economic loss due to Helene through its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
“There’s certain industries where they had lost money, the tourism industry in particular, if people didn’t come here because they think the damage from the storm has caused some kind of impact, then those business owners have lost income and that is definitely something that’s part of one of the SBA programs,” Kulda said.
Disaster recovery centers managed by FEMA permanently closed at 6 p.m. Dec. 7. Residents who have questions about their application for Helene-related assistance can call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or visit disasterassistance.gov to check the status of their application online or through FEMA’s mobile app.
The deadline to apply for assistance through FEMA was Dec. 2. The agency is accepting late applications for 60 days after that deadline, which will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. People seeking to submit an application to FEMA during the 60-day grace period will need to provide a reason for why their request was submitted after the deadline.
FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Centers closed Dec. 7, but the agency’s Individuals Household Program and Enhanced Applicant Services will continue direct outreach to survivors to further assist with their applications. The agency had about 225 personnel on the ground in Southwest Virginia as of Tuesday.
