FEMA, Small Business Association Getting Flood Victims Signed Up For Assistance

The Disaster Recovery Center is open at the Aurora Lions Club Building through Saturday, June 16.

FEMA and Small Business Administration officials are stationed at a temporary Disaster Recovery Center in Aurora this week. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Aurora, Ind.) - Residents and businesses of Dearborn, Ohio, or Switzerland counties who suffered property or revenue losses due to the Ohio River flood of February and March 2018 may qualify for assistance from FEMA or the Small Business Administration.

The two federal agencies opened a Disaster Recovery Center at the Aurora Lions Club Building, 228 2nd Street, on Tuesday, June 12. The center will remain open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. each day through Friday. It’s final day open will be Saturday, June 16 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

“It’s a personal feel for people who want to apply for assistance for damages done to their homes in February and March. People can come here, they get to talk to personal application assistants who help them out,” says Tiana Suber with FEMA.

The three southeastern Indiana counties along the Ohio River were added to the list of Indiana counties where federal disaster assistance to cover uninsured losses were damaged. Part of that declaration is the center being set up for local residents to take advantage of.

Several people had already visited the center for help with the assistance applications by Tuesday morning.

Those paying the center a visit to complete an application should bring along proof of ownership or residency of a property in flood-affected area, pictures of their damage, proof of lost revenue, and receipts for costs of repairing damage.

“This is one way that people can attempt to recover from the disaster by applying for one of these SBA disaster loans,” says Aquinas Mackey, a public affairs specialist with SBA.

The SBA disaster loans can be for as long as 30 years with interest rates ranging from 1.81 percent up to 3.58 percent, depending on whether you are a business owner, a private non-profit organization, or a homeowner or renter.

For those who cannot make it to Aurora to meet at the Disaster Recovery Center, FEMA and SBA agents will be out knocking on doors in the area this week. Applications to FEMA can also be completed online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. SBA assistance information and applications can be completed at www.sba.gov/disaster.

The deadline to submit an application for physical property damage caused by the flood is July 5, 2018. The deadline for economic injury applications is February 5, 2019.