Federal Government Assistance Comes to North Texas Counties Affected by Severe Weather

Texas Governor Rick Perry this afternoon announced that a number of North Texas counties will be eligible for Small Business Administration federal disaster assistance after the tornadoes and severe thunderstorms that blew through there earlier this month.

Those counties are: Dallas, Kaufman, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hunt, Johnson, Parker, Rockwall, Van Zandt and Wise.

“These storms dealt a significant blow to the North Texas area, and left many Texans in need of financial assistance to help rebuild their homes and businesses,” Governor Perry said. “I’m pleased the SBA has granted this request so families and businesses that lost so much in these storms can get back on their feet.”

Homeowners, renters and businesses in all 13 counties are eligible to apply for low-interest SBA disaster loans. Homeowners can borrow up to $200,000 for residential damages, and renters and homeowners may borrow up to $40,000 for personal property losses. Businesses of any size and nonprofit organizations can borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace real estate assets, machinery and equipment, business inventory and other business assets damaged in the storm. The loans are offered at low interest rates for terms of up to 30 years.

Disaster Loan Outreach Centers opened today in Dallas, Kaufman and Tarrant counties, locations listed below. The filing deadline to return applications for property damage is June 18, 2012. The deadline to return economic injury applications is January 17, 2013.