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COURTLAND

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on Oct. 8 that disaster aid is available to businesses and residents of Southampton County affected by Tropical Storm Isaias in early August. The SBA is making low-interest federal disaster loans available to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners or renters.

For details, call the outreach center at 1-800-659-2955 between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Email is FCOE-Help@sba.gov. The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is Dec. 7, and the deadline to return economic injury applications is July 7, 2021.

“The SBA is strongly committed to providing the people of Virginia with the most effective and customerfocused response possible to assist businesses of all sizes, homeowners and renters with federal disaster loans,” said SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. “Getting businesses and communities up and running after a disaster is our highest priority at SBA.”

In accordance with health precautions for COVID-19, the SBA will not establish a field presence to assist survivors. However, the SBA wi ll continue to provide customer service and conduct outreach virtually with webinars, Skype calls, phone assistance and step-by-step application assistance. The SBA has opened a Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center to help survivors apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via the SBA ‘s secure website at https://DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/. Virtual customer support representatives arc available to help applicants complete the online application during these operating hours.