The deadline is nearing to apply for assistance from the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for physical damage resulting from severe flooding Sept. 13 through Oct. 5.

Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply by Tuesday, Dec. 2. The deadline to return economic injury applications with the SBA is July 3, 2009.

To date, 30,585 people across La Salle, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane and Will counties have applied for assistance with FEMA. Of that number, 196 applicants live in La Salle County, said Melynda Petrie, FEMA external affairs field specialist. Woodford County became eligible for assistance Friday. FEMA has approved $33.2 million across the eight counties. SBA has approved over $2.6 million dollars for this declaration and has issued 144 home applications and 37 business applications for La Salle County.  Overall for this disaster, SBA has issued more than 24,500 applications, 21,387 home and 3,179 for businesses.

After registration with FEMA, applicants will be contacted to set up an appointment for inspection. Petrie reminds applicants there is no fee for this and to be sure to check inspectors for a FEMA photo badge. Illinois has not had any fraudulent cases, but other states have, she noted. FEMA also will not call unannounced for bank information or a Social Security number.

Additionally, disaster victims with insurance should not wait for an insurance settlement before applying to the SBA. If victims do not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, the SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan.

This week, the Disaster Recovery Center is at 303 S. Main St., Roanoke. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. FEMA registration also can be completed by calling toll free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 or online at www.fema.gov.

Anyone unable to visit a center may obtain an application by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired) Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. or by e-mailing the Customer Service Center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Business loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA Web site, www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to one of the centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. Victims may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

The SBA offers loans up to $200,000 to repair disaster damaged primary residences. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as furniture, appliances and clothing. Loans to businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations are available up to $2 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, inventory and equipment.

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses and most private, nonprofit organizations of all sizes to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.

Interest rates for SBA loans are as low as 2.875 percent for homeowners and renters and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

The SBA also offers mitigation loans to disaster victims based on 20 percent of the verified damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures that may prevent damages of the same kind later.