Disaster loans made available for April 4 storm damage
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MACOMB (WGEM) – McDonough and Schuyler County residents that received damage from severe storms on April 4 may now be eligible for disaster loans.
A disaster declaration was approved for the round of severe storms which impacted Fulton, Knox, Mason, McDonough, Peoria, Schuyler, Tazewell and Warren counties.
This round of severe weather brought an EF-1 tornado with 105 mph winds to the Industry area, along with several tornadoes across Fulton County.
According to McDonough County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency Director Edgar Rodriguez, neighboring counties to Fulton County pooled their damage estimates together to receive the disaster declaration.
This declaration allowed the Small Business Administration (SBA) to open eligibility for home disaster loans, business physical disaster loans and economic injury disaster loans.
The home disaster loans are meant for homeowners whose residence received damage from the storms.
The business physical disaster loans apply to damaged property owned by businesses, while the economic injury loans pertain to financial loss as a result of damage.
According to Rodriguez, an example of the economic injury loans would be: if a farmer could not plant their crops on time due to damaged equipment, and thus their production and output may be impacted.
Rodriguez emphasized this is not a money give-away.
This is not free money, Rodriguez said. This is through the Small Business Administration. They basically are offering low interest loans for anybody that qualifies for this.
He said the loans work around insurance.
This is in addition to your insurance. So basically, theyre going to see your insurance, if youre uninsured, then you can qualify for the loan, Rodriguez said. If youre insured, and theres a portion, like a deductible, you can apply for the deductible or whatever is not covered by the insurance.
These loans are only made available for April 4 storm damage. Any damage received in these counties from other storms (such as the May 7 storms in McDonough County) does not qualify.
The application filing deadline for physical damage loans is July 3, while farmers and businesses have until February 2024 to apply for economic injury loans.
There is a Disaster Loan Outreach Center established to help anyone who has questions of eligibility or how to complete the applications.
This center is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday and located at the St. David Village Hill at 90 Western Avenue in St. David, Illinois.
The center will close permanently on Wednesday, May 24.
You can also find more information about the loans and how to apply by clicking here.
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