ST. MARY PARISH, La. ( KLFY ) — As recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene begin, residents in St. Mary Parish are still recovering from Hurricane Francine.

Francine, a category two hurricane, caused widespread flooding and power outages, leading to Governor Jeff Landry declaring a state of emergency and President Joe Biden approving an emergency declaration for Louisiana.

As Biden has now also approved a federal emergency declaration for states impacted by Hurricane Helene, that will not slow efforts down here in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration still has sites set up to help residents in several parishes, including St. Mary Parish.

Right now, there’s still both a FEMA disaster recovery center and a SBA business recovery center in Morgan City.

Corey Williams, with the U.S. SBA Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, explains how they’re still helping after Hurricane Francine.

“Let’s say let’s say we have a Morgan City pizza company. So, for those three days, they may have been out of business that for the storm. If they’re averaging about, let’s say, $10,000 a day, well, that $30,000 impact may not have as much of an impact on a Pizza Hut. It may not have as much of an impact on Papa John’s,” Williams said.

“But when that’s your only franchise and your only business, that that takes a lot longer for that Morgan City business owner to either recoup that money,” Williams continued.

Through the SBA, businesses and nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million.

“That’s the purpose or the purpose of the economic injury disaster loan program. We’re providing working capital for small businesses and nonprofits to meet their ordinary expenses and paying your accounts payable, meeting your mortgage obligations, lease obligations, and your employees,” Williams said.

Williams said the SBA, however, can also provide help for homeowners and renters.

“A lot of people don’t realize that SBA is not just for businesses and nonprofits,” he said.

Homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 for real estate damage, and renters can borrow up to $100,000 to repair personal property.

FEMA is also still providing assistance in conjunction with SBA. Williams recommends residents to register with FEMA and also apply for SBA to see more federal benefits you could be eligible for.

The FEMA disaster recovery center and the SBA business recovery center are both in Morgan City, right across the street from each other.

The FEMA disaster recovery center is located at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The SBA business recovery center is located at the St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce. It’s open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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