Governor Greg Abbott on May 1st, announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his request for a disaster declaration in Texas communities affected by severe weather and flooding early last month. Texas counties included in the declaration are Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Newton, Orange, Sabine, San Augustine, and Tyler counties.

"For Texans who have been impacted by storms and flooding last month, this SBA disaster declaration will help them access the crucial financial assistance they need to recover and rebuild," said Governor Abbott. "Impacted Texans will be able to qualify for low-interest loans so they can begin to rebuild their homes and businesses that sustained storm damage. I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working with our federal partners to ensure Texans have the resources and assistance they need to move forward."

The SBA has granted access to its Home Disaster Loans, Business Physical Disaster Loans, and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, which will provide low-interest loans to qualifying homeowners, renters, and businesses in affected communities following the severe weather and flooding that began April 8.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email [email protected] for more information on SBA disaster assistance.

For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities following the early April severe storms and flooding, including:

• Readying state emergency response resources ahead of severe weather threats
• Mobilizing state emergency response resources ahead of severe storms expected to impact the state
• Deploying additional state emergency response resources ahead of severe storms and flash flooding.
• Issuing a disaster declaration for East Texas counties impacted by severe storms and flooding.

Requesting an SBA declaration for disaster loans for Jasper County and its contiguous counties following storm impacts.