RALEIGH—The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved a disaster declaration at Governor Cooper’s request for North Carolina counties damaged by Hurricane Dorian. Assistance is now available for residents in counties impacted by the storm.

The SBA granted a disaster declaration for North Carolina counties including: Carteret, Dare, Hyde, New Hanover, Beaufort, Brunswick, Craven, Currituck, Jones, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Tyrrell, and Washington. The declaration allows residents of these counties to apply for low interest SBA disaster loans.

According to North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety, applicants in these counties can apply online using the Electric Loan Application on the SBA website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ .

Governor Cooper said in a press release that “the Small Business Association’s approval of North Carolina’s disaster request is an important step to getting more resources to the people impacted by Hurricane Dorian.”

Following the nod from the SBA, Governor Cooper intends to sign a North Carolina disaster declaration which will offer state-funded grants to those that do not qualify for an SBA loan.