SBA Offers Disaster Relief to Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Adverse Weather

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low-interest federal disaster loans to small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in New York to offset economic losses caused by adverse weather.

The disaster declarations cover the counties listed below:

Declaration Number: NY-20032

Primary Counties: Suffolk

Neighboring Counties: Nassau in New York, New London in Connecticut, and Washington in Rhode Island.

Incident Type: Freeze, Ice Floes, and Tidal Surge

Incident Date: Jan. 26 – Feb. 23

Deadline: Dec. 21

Declaration Number: NY-20033

Primary Counties: Cattaraugus, Cortland, Erie, Fulton, Herkimer, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates

Neighboring Counties: Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Genesee, Hamilton, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Ontario, Oswego, Otsego, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Tompkins, and Wyoming in New York, McKean, Potter, Tioga, and Warren in Pennsylvania.

Incident Type: Excessive Rain

Incident Date: April 1 – July 15, 2025

Deadline: Dec. 21

Declaration Number: NY-20034

Primary Counties: Broome, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington

Neighboring Counties: Albany, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Schenectady, Tioga, in New York, Berkshire in Massachusetts, Susquehanna and Wayne in Pennsylvania, Addison, Bennington, and Rutland in Vermont

Incident Type: Excessive Rain and Flooding

Incident Date: May 1 – June 30, 2025

Deadline: Dec. 21

Declaration Number: NY-20035

Primary Counties: Cayuga, Ontario, Oswego, and Tompkins

Neighboring Counties: Chemung, Cortland, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Oneida, Onondaga, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Wayne and Yates

Incident Type: Excessive Rain and Flooding

Incident Date: April 1– July 1, 2025

Deadline: Dec. 21

Declaration Number: NY-20036

Primary Counties: Steuben

Neighboring Counties: Allegany, Chemung, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, and Yates in New York, Potter and Tioga in Pennsylvania.

Incident Type: Flash Flooding

Incident Date: June 9 – 10, 2025        

Deadline: Dec. 21

Declaration Number: NY-20037

Primary Counties: Broome, Cayuga, and Schuyler

Neighboring Counties: Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates in New York, Susquehanna and Wayne in Pennsylvania.

Incident Type: Hail, Rain, and High Winds

Incident Date: July 3, 2025

Deadline: Dec. 21

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and PNPs — including faith-based organizations — with financial losses directly related to this disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills which could not paid due to the disaster.

“Through a declaration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, SBA provides critical financial assistance to help communities recover,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “We’re pleased to offer loans to small businesses and private nonprofits impacted by these disasters.” 

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.625% for PNPs, with terms of up to a maximum of 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is Dec. 21.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov