Yet another unfortunate byproduct of the destruction and devastation that Hurricanes Helene and Milton wreaked on communities is that of harmful and lasting impacts on the small businesses in the affected areas. Many entrepreneurs had their livelihoods wiped out as a result of these disasters, and then sought assistance from the Small Business Administration. Andy Medici writes about this phenomenon for The Business Journals in his article “SBA runs out of disaster loan money. Here’s what impacted businesses can do now.”

Medici describes this situation thus,

“The SBA had been ramping up its presence in Florida in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton. While it no longer will be able to approve and disburse funding for its low-interest disaster loans, the SBA will still be able to accept applications and ready borrowers for approval if Congress were to approve more funding. To that end, the SBA’s loan-application portal will remain open, and its disaster centers and in-person staff will continue to deploy across the country.”

The bottom line is that business owners should still apply for relief in case funding increases again and their pleas can then be heard. The statistics of the submissions cited by Medici state, “37,000 applications for relief [were] submitted from people impacted by Hurricane Helene alone. The agency said it has already made more than 700 Helene loan offers totaling about $48 million. For people impacted by Hurricane Milton, the SBA said it has received more than 12,000 applications.” When entrepreneurship is impossible for small-business owners because of such tragic circumstances, sustaining and providing for their families becomes impossible.

Two additional resources for those in this dreadful situation to consult are Inc.’s “For Entrepreneurs Hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Tax Relief Is Here” and  FEMA’s Recovery Resource Guide for Local Business Owners.

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Lucy Brooks, DMT.NEWS, DMT BeautySpot,