ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses, small
agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit
organizations that March 16 is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans in Georgia
as a result of flash flooding that occurred on March 24-31, 2021.
This declaration covers Gordon County and the contiguous counties of Bartow, Cherokee, Floyd, Gilmer,
Murray, Pickens, Walker and Whitfield in Georgia.
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related

and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster.
Apart from aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers,
farmers, and ranchers.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and
2 percent for private nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility
based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms
are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. These working capital loans
may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had
the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure
website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration # 17056, not
for the COVID-19 incident.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer
Service Center at 800-659-2955 (for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability,
please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services), or by sending an email to
DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at
sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Adm

Press Release