Starting Tuesday, thousands of people who suffered damage during the bomb cyclone can now apply for disaster assistance in Monroe, Snohomish County.
The Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans to anyone who suffered financial loss during November’s deadly bomb cyclone.
This includes those who suffered losses after the storm passed through.
Our colleague Jason Sloss interviewed an arborist who nearly died while cleaning up after the storm. What about him? We submitted that question to the Small Business Administration. After he and many others need the help offered here.
They flew here from Sacramento and Saint Louis Missouri, these Small Business Administration employees, with one goal in mind: to help everyone who took a financial hit during the deadly bomb cyclone that ripped through Western Washington a week before Thanksgiving.
“These are loans,” said Cynthia Cowley, SBA Public Information Officer. “We do need the ability to repay the loan. And we do require creditworthiness. But we are not as tough as people might think.”
SBA’s Cowell says the federal agency offers good terms on these loans, low interest rates and a year to pay them back.
“And it doesn’t matter if it’s a huge disaster like Southern California or a smaller disaster like Snohomish County,” she said.
She says anyone in any county that shares a border with King County would be eligible.
“What do you think would have happened if the tree had landed right on you?” Dustin Gerstner was asked.
“Done,” Gerstner said, “absolutely gone.”
We wanted to know if this arborist from Bothell is included. Gerstner nearly died days after the storm while helping homeowners with massive cleanup efforts. Now he is out of work and facing enormous medical bills.
“He could potentially qualify for an economic injury loan,” Cowley said. ‘We cannot cover his medical costs. Maybe he wants to go through the province for that. So he has to apply.”
In fact, that’s her advice to anyone feeling affected by the storm. The worst that can happen, she says, is that they say no.
Only two people showed up here today. But SBA will be here until 6 or 7 at night, depending on the day of the week.
