RALEIGH -- Governor Roy Cooper announced that financial assistance is available through the U.S. Small Business Administration for residents affected by storms that struck Watauga and surrounding counties last month.  This SBA disaster declaration makes low-interest loans available to home and business owners and renters in those areas.  Governor Cooper requested this federal assistance in a letter to the SBA last week.

“When a strong line of storms moved across our state, these counties were hit hard with winds and water,” said Governor Cooper. “These communities and their residents expended considerable resources trying to clean up from the storm, and this declaration and these loans will help speed recovery.”

High winds, tornadoes and floods struck these western counties on Oct. 23, downing trees, damaging homes and buildings and leaving extensive flooding in Boone. While Watauga was the only county that met the threshold for SBA assistance, residents and business owners in the surrounding counties of Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes can also apply for the federal assistance.