AUSTIN, Texas — Six East Texas counties that saw significant flooding amid storms in May have been approved to receive loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration to assist with recovery.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that the SBA approved a request for a disaster declaration in Nacogdoches, Angelina, Cherokee, Rusk, San Augustine and Shelby counties.
Abbott thanked the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working with the SBA to determine that disaster declaration eligibility requirements were reached for Nacogdoches County and the other neighboring counties.
"The state of Texas continues working with state, local, and federal partners as we ensure homeowners and businesses affected by these severe storms receive the assistance they need to recover," Abbott said.
Through this approval, the SBA's Physical Disaster Loan program for homes and businesses and its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program will be available to the communities impacted by the May 10 storms, Abbott said.
Local, state and federal partners performed preliminary damage assessments of the damage to homes and businesses on June 8, and four days later, Abbott requested the SBA declaration.
People in these counties can apply for the disaster assistance at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov. They can also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Completed loan applications could also be submitted SBA’s Processing and Disbursement Center, located at 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas, 76155.