SBA adding disaster recovery centers in Toombs, Liberty counties

LIBERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) – The Small Business Administration (SBA) set up disaster recovery centers in our area to help our communities recover after the storms.

"We see a pretty widespread path of destruction and these numbers are expected to grow – as we go into the future," said Dilawar Syed, the deputy administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

They offer loans up to $100,000 for renters, up to $500,000 for homeowners and up to $2-million for business owners who live in one of the dozens of counties where a disaster has been declared.

"Communities that are underserved, that have been historically underserved we are reaching out to them," said Syed.

The SBA has gotten over 6000 applications for aid, handing out almost $2.4 million worth of assistance statewide. Officials say those numbers are on-par for what they see after a hurricane, but what's different is how widespread the damage is.

"We are seeing increasing frequency of hurricanes in this region," said Syed. "Climate change is real and the fact that Idalia then Debby now Helene and of course Milton ravaged communities in Florida as well, so we are a pretty busy shop."

Loans have been put on pause while we wait for congress to approve more funds, but they're still encouraging people to submit applications.

"We'll be here as long as it takes to help this region recover," said Syed.

They've set up disaster recovery centers in Chatham, Bulloch, Toombs and Liberty counties. They're still accepting applications for loans. If you want more information you can visit sba.gov/disaster.