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SBA approves more than $10M in loans for those affected by Kilauea eruption

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A resident’s gate remained intact amongst the fallen trees and steaming lava field near fissure 8 at Nohea Street in Leilani Estates on June 20. Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters in Hawaii County.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has now approved more than $10 million in federal disaster loans for Hawaii businesses and residents affected by the Kilauea volcanic eruption that began May 3.

SBA has approved a total of $10.2 million in loans — $989,500 for businesses and $9.2 million for residents — to help rebuild and recover from this disaster, according to Tanya N. Garfield, director of the U.S. SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West.

“SBA’s disaster assistance employees are committed to helping businesses and residents rebuild as quickly as possible,” said Garfield in a news release. “Don’t miss out on any assistance you may be entitled to by not registering for help. You don’t need to wait for your insurance to settle or obtain a contractor’s estimate.”

Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters in Hawaii County.

Loans of up to $2 million are available to businesses and non-profits to repair or replace real estate, equipment, inventory and other business assets, plus additional funds to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace their damaged or destroyed primary residence. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Applicants may apply online, call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

The deadline to apply for property damage is Aug. 13. The deadline to apply for economic injury is March 14, 2019.

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