|
It’s a nightmare for business owners: the idea of recovering from a flood,
tornado or other disaster. What would you do? How would you proceed, and would
your business survive? As Spring arrives and visions of tornadoes, storms and
floods dance in our heads, you’ll be happy to know that if you ever suffer such
an event, there’s help.
According to the Small Business Association, if your small business has
suffered substantial economic injury, regardless of physical damage, and is
located in a declared disaster area, you may be eligible for financial
assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Small businesses and small agricultural cooperatives that have suffered
substantial economic injury resulting from a physical disaster or an
agricultural production disaster designated by the Secretary of Agriculture may
be eligible for the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL).
Substantial economic injury is the inability of a business to meet its
obligations as they mature and to pay its ordinary and necessary operating
expenses.
An EIDL can help you meet necessary financial obligations that your business
could have met had the disaster not occurred. It provides relief from economic
injury caused directly by the disaster and permits you to maintain a reasonable
working capital position during the period affected by the disaster.
The SBA provides EIDL assistance only to those businesses that are unable to
obtain credit elsewhere. The SBA can provide up to $1.5 million in disaster
assistance to a business. This loan cap includes both economic injury and
physical damage assistance. Loan amounts are based on actual economic injury and
financial needs.
The interest rate on EIDLs cannot exceed 4 percent per year, and the term of
these loans cannot exceed 30 years. Terms are determined by the recipient’s
ability to repay the loan.
If you are a victim of a disaster, you can get more information at http://www.sba.gov/.
Source: Small Business Association | 
