Office of Governor Brad Henry
State of Oklahoma
State Capitol – Oklahoma City OK 73105
405-521-2342

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 14, 2010

(Oklahoma City) - Gov. Brad Henry today announced that Oklahoma County has been declared a disaster area by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the deadly flooding outbreak that occurred June 14.

Under the declaration, contiguous counties are also eligible for assistance, meaning that residents in Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan and Pottawatomie counties may also apply for aid.

The designation provides SBA low-interest disaster loans for renters, homeowners and business owners to repair or replace any property damaged by the flooding which was not covered by insurance or other assistance programs. The loan program is also available to assist businesses that sustained economic injury due to the severe weather.

The Governor requested the SBA assistance last week after FEMA denied Individual Assistance for Oklahoma County residents. More than 220 homes and businesses were damaged in the flooding and less than 2 percent of the properties were covered by flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. The primary reason for the low insurance coverage is most homes are not located in an identified flood zone.

“The SBA low-interest loan program won’t address all of the needs of flood victims, but it will provide some much-needed assistance as they rebuild and recover,” said Gov. Henry.

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