When the winter storms hit the Central Coast, houses, roads and businesses flooded. Since then, the Biden Administration picked select California counties — including all of the Central Coast — to receive federal funding for recovery.
George Kostyrko is with the federal Small Business Administration, or SBA. He works in the Office of Disaster, Recovery and Resilience, and is traveling the Central Coast with FEMA to help people apply for assistance.
“This presidential Declaration was actually fairly intense and it covers all the coastal communities from San Mateo to the north to Santa Barbara to the South, which includes this County San Luis Obispo,” Kostyrko said.
Kostyrko said the SBA is providing low interest federal disaster loans for residents and businesses who faced damage and are uninsured or underinsured.
He says the loans can include up to $200,000 for homeowners, and if you are a renter facing damage your loan can be as large as $40,000 to repair or replace your damaged property.
“Especially if you've got a situation like you've got roommates, you know, people living in an apartment. Each one of those people, if they apply, are eligible for up to $40,000 in personal loss,” Kostyrko said.
Kostyrko said the loan program even extends to undocumented residents living in the Central Coast. He said he understands why undocumented residents would be hesitant to reach out for assistance, but in this case no one will be reported.
“This is basically just for our ability to really research and see what kind of services we can offer people,” Kostyrko said.
Kostyrko said once residents pre-register for aid at DisasterAssistance.gov, they can visit any local disaster recovery center to ask any questions about their file.
Starting tomorrow, SLO County’s Recovery Center will be shortening their hours to 10AM to 7PM and its last day open will be February 14th.
And starting Wednesday, Santa Barbara County’s recovery center will be temporarily closed until Saturday, February 11.
The final day to report storm damage to FEMA and the Small Business Administration is March 16.
