The Small Business Administration will be coming to East Ridge to speed recovery efforts and to help individuals and businesses as they recover from the flooding damages. Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 27, SBA will be located at East Ridge City Hall, 1517 Tombras Ave.

“East Ridge was hit hard by the floods last month, and this assistance from SBA will help families and businesses here recover,” said East Ridge Mayor Mike Steele. “We are greatly appreciative to SBA for coming to East Ridge, for offering a hand up as we rebuild and repair, and to Governer Bredesen for working to make this opportunity available.”

The filing deadline for applications for physical damage to homes, personal property and businesses is Dec. 21, 2009. The filing deadline for applications for economic injury is July 21, 2010.

The following disaster loans are available:
- Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster damaged real estate or personal property owned by the victim. Renters are eligible for their personal property losses, including automobiles.

- Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible.

- Economic Injury Disaster Loans – are working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.

EIDL assistance is available only to entities and their owners who cannot provide for their own recovery from non-government sources, as determined by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private nonprofit organizations to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, inventory and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster.

In order to request a SBA designation for a county, the state must first determine the state and affected communities will not qualify for other federal assistance.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and county officials last week determined that Hardin and Hamilton Counties would not qualify for other federal disaster assistance programs based on a formal assessment of the damages.

FEMA’s preliminary damage surveys found more than $455,000 in damages occurred to homes and businesses throughout the county. There were 90 homes with major damages and 50 homes with minor damages. There were 26 businesses with minor and three businesses with major damages. More than 31 homes and businesses experienced uninsured damages in excess of 40 percent or more of their fair replacement value.