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Palm Beach County's Flash-Flood Victims Get Financial Help

Christine DiMattei

Help is on the way for people whose homes and businesses were damaged by the freak flash floods that hit parts of Palm Beach County in January.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has set up a disaster recovery center in Delray Beach where flood victims can apply for low-interest loans.

Meteorologists say the nearly 2 feet of rain dumped on parts of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach between Jan. 9 and 10 was a once-every-1,000-years weather event.  The resulting floods forced school and road closures and are being blamed for the deaths of two people.

Less than a week after the flood waters subsided, state and local emergency managers toured the hardest-hit areas and determined the damage wasn’t bad enough to qualify for federal funds through FEMA.

But the SBA is granting qualified homeowners up to $200,000 in loans for repairs and up to $40,000 for personal property.  Renters can also apply for the loans to replace property lost or damaged in the floods.

The disaster recovery center will be open at the Palm Beach County Library’s Hagen Road Ranch branch in Delray Beach until Thursday, Feb. 13.  

Its hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Flood victims can also apply for loans by calling 1-800-659-2955 or by registering with the SBA online.

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Christine DiMattei is WLRN's Morning Edition anchor and also reports on Arts & Culture.
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