Disaster Recovery Resources for NC Small Businesses

“North Carolina is resilient, our people are strong and we are going to get through this together. This storm is still impacting people in a big way. You have got to see it to believe all the devastation that has occurred.” - North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory

This past weekend, North Carolina was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. The flooding continued long after the storm headed out into the Atlantic.

If you've been impacted and need help, here are some important recovery resources for your home and business...

• FEMA Disaster Declaration – www.fema.gov/disaster/3380

• NC Dept. Of Public Safety / Emergency Management: www.ncdps.gov/hurricane-matthew-2016

• NC Emergency Management – ReadyNC.org

• Federal preparedness and recovery website – Ready.gov

• SBA Disaster Preparedness – PrepareMyBusiness.org

• Weather – Weather.gov

• Transportation – ncdot.org/traffictravel

• NC Department of Insurance – ncdoi.com

• Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety – DisasterSafety.org

• Red Cross Business Readiness Evaluation Tool –

  ReadyrRating.org 

From North Carolina’s Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC)Disaster Preparation and Recovery page: 

Four Things to Do After a Disaster

• Contact your insurance carrier to file your claim.
  If you are leasing business space, ensure that your lease owner has contacted their insurance carrier. Take pictures of damage.

• Contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) once a federal disaster declaration has been made for your area (this can take several days post-disaster). You can contact FEMA by phone or online at www.fema.gov to report any loss. FEMA will take your information, provide you a registration number and mail applicable loan applications to you. For business loss, FEMA will refer you to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

  • FEMA Phone Registration

    1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY

    1-800-462-7585 (speech & hearing impaired).

  • You can also visit a FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in your area. DRC’s are temporary mobile assistance centers and are established after a federal disaster declaration has been made. Check your local news source for information about times and locations.

• Contact the U.S. Small Business Administration to pursue low interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private, non-profit organizations to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery & equipment, inventory and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster.

  The SBA provides applications for the agency’s disaster loan program online, which offers:

  • Business physical disaster loans of up to $2 million to cover uninsured or underinsured losses.

  • Economic injury disaster loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations.

  • To obtain Disaster Loan Program information or to receive a status update on your loan request, call their customer service line at 1-800-659-2955 or email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. You can also visit a FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in your area.

• Contact the North Carolina SBTDC for assistance with:

  • Assessing the financial impact on your business

  • Reconstructing financial statements

  • Preparing your SBA disaster loan application

  • Exploring options with creditors

SBTDC team members ready to help you:

Michael Twiddy - mtwiddy@sbtdc.org
Matt Byrne - mbyrne@sbtdc.org

Both can be reached at (252) 335-3247