(ATLANTA, GA) -- As recovery continues for many businesses in Eastern North Carolina, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Regional Administrator responsible for North Carolina is urging those affected by Hurricane Irene to make sure they get registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and return completed SBA disaster loan applications. The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is October 31, 2011. The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 31, 2012.

The SBA's low-interest disaster loan program is the primary source of federal funds for long-term recovery for uninsured damages caused by a declared disaster. "We are coordinating recovery efforts with our SBA Resource Partners along with federal, state and local stakeholders in the declared disaster area to ensure affected survivors receive proper assistance from the SBA," said SBS Regional Administrator, Cassius Butts.  "Taking time to complete and return the loan application package to the SBA is an important part of the recovery process."

The declaration covers the counties of Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson in North Carolina, which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.  Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Columbus, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Pender, Sampson, Wake and Wayne.

"The SBA District Office and the Small Business and Technology Development Center Network in North Carolina are reaching out to local businesses to make sure they have access to federal resources to help them recover from the disaster," said Lynn Douthett, SBA's District Director in Charlotte.

Those affected by the disaster may apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA's website at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.