Governor Laura Kelly sent a disaster declaration request to the Small Business Administration for damage caused by an EF4 tornado that passed through the center of Douglas County, Kansas, on May 28.
“The damage caused by the tornadoes stretched far and wide,” Kelly said. “It’s important we get affected individuals and families back on the path to recovery. We must do everything we can to help rebuild our communities.”
The tornado destroyed and severely damaged numerous homes and businesses along its nearly one-mile wide track. Twenty-eight tornadoes occurred across the state on May 28, with reports of damage in north central and northeast Kansas.
Joint preliminary damage assessments were conducted between the State and SBA last week. After joint preliminary damage assessment between county emergency management, the state of Kansas and the Small Business Administration, it has been determined that damages potentially meet the threshold for a declaration from the Small Business Administration.
If a declaration is granted for Douglas County the contiguous counties (Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Osage, and Shawnee) will be eligible to apply if they experienced tornado damaged on May 28.
SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters. SBA disaster loans can be used to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property in a declared disaster, including real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, and inventory and business assets.