The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied Governor Brian Kemp’s request for disaster assistance in Chattooga County for damage caused by the Labor Day Weekend Flood in September of 2022.  While FEMA funds will not be available, the U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest loans to businesses, home owners, and renters who sustained damage from the flood.

In a letter to Governor Brian Kemp, FEMA said it would not provide aid to Chattooga County because the damages did not meet the threshold of “severity and magnitude”

The SBA says businesses and residents in the declared area can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the SBA. The declaration covers Chattooga County and the adjacent counties of Floyd and Walker in Georgia; and Cherokee and DeKalb in Alabama.
SBA opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) on Thursday at the Chattooga County EMA/E-911 in Summerville.  The office is open today, but will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.