Nearly 100 people have applied for financial help from the U.S. Small Business Administration after severe flooding hit areas near the Catawba River last month.
The low-interest loans, which come from the CBA's Office of Disaster Assistance, are meant to help residents and business owners recover from damage that may not be fully covered by insurance. As of Wednesday morning, the CBA reported that 95 applications had been submitted and that approvals were starting to be processed.
As of Tuesday, four homeowner loans for about $82,000 had been approved.
According to the state, more than 600 homes in Mecklenburg and Catawba counties were impacted by severe weather and associated flooding last month.
Two disaster-loan outreach centers – one in Charlotte and one in Hickory – close Thursday evening, but the SBA says people can submit applications until Aug. 26.
Earlier this month, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper signed a disaster declaration for Mecklenburg and other Charlotte-area counties that were hit by the flooding. In announcing the declaration, he said it was meant to help folks who didn't qualify for disaster loans from the SBA.
Cooper was in Charlotte this week to view the lingering damage and hear from residents who were impacted by the flooding.
“I knew this area was flooded. I didn’t know much about it,” The Charlotte Observer reports Cooper as telling residents who'd questioned whether Duke Energy had released too much water upstream after the storm. “But I’ve certainly heard from local citizens who live here. There is clearly a lot of frustration and despair.”
One resident, Kyle Van Cleave, told WFAE in June that the basement of the home he and his wife bought just last year filled with water when the flooding started. They had to be rescued.
"We left around 10:30, got taken out by boat," Van Cleave said then. "In our house, it was about three or four feet on the main level, so including the bottom level about eight or nine feet high."
People can apply for loans through the SBA at disasterloan.sba.gov or by calling 1-800-2955.
