SBA Urges Earthquake Survivors to Apply Now; New Counties Added to the Declaration ATLANTA, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Small Business Administration encourages homeowners, renters and businesses in Virginia impacted by the earthquake and aftershocks that occurred on Aug. 23 through Oct. 25, 2011, to return their completed loan applications before the March 5 deadline. "Currently, 107 homes and 7 businesses disaster loans have been approved in the amount of $2,330,400 for affected survivors," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Field Operations Center East in Atlanta. We are pleased to be able to get these loans approved so residents and businesses in the disaster area can continue to rebuild and resume their normal lives. Waiting to file an SBA application could cause unnecessary delays in receiving disaster assistance, and many may miss the extended application deadline of March 5. I encourage anyone who has not completed their disaster loan application to meet with Customer Service Representatives at one of the Disaster Recovery Centers for one-on-one assistance," added Skaggs The counties of Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa, Orange, Spotsylvania and the independent city of Fredericksburg 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: Albemarle, Buckingham, Caroline, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Fauquier, Greene, Hanover, Henrico, Madison, Powhatan, Rappahannock and Stafford in Virginia. Homeowners and renters who receive a SBA disaster home loan application after registering with FEMA should submit it as soon as possible to receive consideration for a loan or referral to FEMA for possible grant assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair, moving and storage expenses. To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, those affected by the disaster should call FEMA at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 800-462-7585 (TTY) for the deaf and hard-of- hearing or register online at www.disasterassistance.gov. For assistance and Disaster Recovery Centers locations, call the SBA's Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan application forms can be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Those affected by the disaster may also apply for disaster loans electronically from SBA's website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/. The deadline to return SBA applications for physical property damage is March 5, 2012. The deadline to return applications for economic injury is August 6, 2012.