The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened disaster loans for people hit by storms, flooding and a wildfire in five states: Ohio, Connecticut, New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Applications for property damage are due Nov. 23 in three of the states and Dec. 1 in the other two, according to the SBA’s notices in the Federal Register. The notices set loan rates for homeowners, businesses and private nonprofits in the named counties.

Two deadlines, five states

The Nov. 23 deadline applies to New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The Dec. 1 deadline applies to Ohio and Connecticut. Each date is the last day to apply for a physical damage loan, the kind that repairs or replaces a home, belongings or business property. The notices set later dates for economic injury loans, covered below.

For anyone in one of the named counties whose home or business was damaged, the question is whether to apply and how soon. The SBA says on its notices that applications go through its MySBA Loan Portal, and the nearer Nov. 23 date is only about six weeks away. A household in New York, Washington or Pennsylvania has the shorter window, and one in Ohio or Connecticut has eight more days.

The next dates to watch are Nov. 23 for New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and Dec. 1 for Ohio and Connecticut.

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County by county

• Ohio: Storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding and landslides from Aug. 10 to Aug. 22 brought a presidential major disaster declaration. Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties are the primary counties. Deadline: Dec. 1.
• Connecticut: Severe storms and flash flooding on Sept. 13. Fairfield County is primary, with Litchfield and New Haven counties and the New York counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk and Westchester contiguous. Deadline: Dec. 1.
• New York: Severe storms and flooding on July 28 and 29. Columbia and Rensselaer counties are primary, with Albany, Dutchess, Greene, Saratoga, Ulster and Washington counties, Berkshire County in Massachusetts and Bennington County in Vermont contiguous. Deadline: Nov. 23.
• Washington: The Chelan Hills Wildfire, July 4 to July 10. Douglas County is primary, with Chelan, Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties contiguous. Deadline: Nov. 23.
• Pennsylvania: Severe storms and flash flooding on Sept. 2 and 3. Clinton and Erie counties are primary, with Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Crawford, Lycoming, Potter, Union and Warren counties, Chautauqua County in New York and Ashtabula County in Ohio contiguous. Deadline: Nov. 23.

In Ohio’s case, the notice says the contiguous counties in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky can apply only for economic injury loans. Those are Athens, Brown, Butler, Clinton, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Guernsey, Hocking, Knox, Madison, Noble, Pickaway, Union, Warren and Washington in Ohio, Dearborn and Franklin in Indiana, and Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Kenton and Pendleton in Kentucky.

What the loans cost

The interest rates in the notices are fixed for each declaration. For a homeowner who cannot get credit elsewhere, the physical damage rate is 3.000 percent in Ohio, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and 2.875 percent in New York and Washington. A homeowner with credit available elsewhere pays 6.000 percent in Ohio, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and 5.750 percent in New York. Businesses pay 4.000 percent without credit elsewhere and 8.000 percent with it, and private nonprofits pay 3.625 percent either way.

The notices do not state a loan amount, only the rates.

Losses without physical damage

Economic injury loans are the SBA’s second kind of disaster loan, for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and private nonprofits. They have later deadlines: July 2, 2027 for Ohio and Connecticut, June 24, 2027 for New York, and June 22, 2027 for Washington and Pennsylvania. The rate is 4.000 percent for businesses and cooperatives without credit elsewhere and 3.625 percent for nonprofits.

The Connecticut notice, published Oct. 6, was signed by James Stallings, Associate Administrator of the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery. The Ohio notice, published Oct. 7, follows the Oct. 2 presidential major disaster declaration, FEMA-4945-DR.

Applying before Nov. 23 or Dec. 1

The free route is the SBA itself. Applications are filed online through the MySBA Loan Portal, and the SBA’s disaster customer service line is 1-800-659-2955, with email at [email protected].

Before starting, it helps to gather photos of the damage, repair estimates, insurance claim numbers and the last tax return. A household should confirm that its county is on the list for its state and match the deadline to the declaration, not to a neighbor’s, because the dates differ by state.

The Nov. 23 and Dec. 1 dates are for physical damage only, and the economic injury dates in 2027 give businesses more time.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.