February 27, 2024
Washington State to Evaluate January Severe Weather Event Economic Impacts for Disaster Fund Eligibility
Due to the economic impacts from the January severe weather event, the Washington State Emergency Management Department is assessing statewide eligibility for a U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration.
All businesses impacted by flooding, ice storm (including a burst pipe), landslides, mudslides, winds, etc. during the entire month of January 2024 are asked to complete and submit the Economic Injury Worksheet form available on our website, and send the completed form to DEM@co.skagit.wa.us
The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management will route all reports received from businesses and non-profits to the Washington State Emergency Management Agency and they will submit reports received statewide to SBA and work with applicants directly thereafter.
Eligibility criteria for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration include:
- A minimum of five businesses (or eligible non-profits) statewide must meet certain eligibility criteria for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration to be approved.
- Businesses (or eligible non-profits) must have sustained economic injury. As defined by SBA, this means a business (or eligible non-profit) is unable to meet its obligations and pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses. SBA will use the submitted economic injury worksheets to make their determination.
Common questions when completing the form include:
- When did the impact start and what is the estimated end date?
The start date should reflect the first day the business or non-profit saw impacts. The end date should reflect a 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day period. Selecting one of these end dates allows SBA a window of time to compare revenue data from a previous year to measure the economic impact. This is true even for those businesses or non-profits that may not open for greater than 90 days.
- Amount of business interruption insurance received or anticipated, if any?
Business interruption insurance is typically an add-on policy to the general insurance coverage, but not all businesses carry this policy. If your businesses or non-profits does not carry this policy, you must enter “NONE” into this form field. Please note insurance coverage for real estate and content losses will be captured in a later question of the form.
For those unemployed, please contact the Washington State Employment Security Department to see if you qualify for unemployment. If you have questions about the form, please contact Hans Kahl with the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management at hkahl@co.skagit.wa.us
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