Published: July 04, 2008 10:08 am      

Disaster assistance deadline nearing

Only a few days remain for individuals and business owners in Craig, Latimer, Ottawa and Pittsburg counties to apply for disaster assistance for damages or other losses caused by the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred May 10-13.

The registration deadline is July 14, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration say.

The recovery summary as of July 2 for severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes that occurred May 10-13 is as follows:

• 473 individuals have registered for Individual Assistance.

• $1.4 million in Individual Assistance has been approved.

• SBA has approved $1.2 million in low-interest disaster loans for Oklahoma residents and businesses.

• 578 individuals have visited Disaster Recovery Centers.

Applicants are urged to register for assistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday. The TTY number is 800-462-7585 for those who are speech or hearing impaired. Applicants also can register online at www.fema.gov.

The deadline to return SBA applications for property damage is also July 14. Mail completed applications to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155-2243. Individuals and business owners may obtain information by calling SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Hearing impaired individuals may contact SBA at 800-877 8339. The deadline to return SBA economic injury loan applications is February 16, 2009.