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Illinois Governor's Office issued the following announcement on Dec. 21.
Gov. Bruce Rauner formally submitted a request for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) assistance to help people and businesses in Christian, Macon, Montgomery and Sangamon counties recover from the devastating tornadoes that occurred Dec. 1.
If approved, an SBA disaster declaration would make low-interest loans available to homeowners, renters and businesses.
"The road to recovery will be a long and difficult path for many residents in these areas," Rauner said. "I'm proud of the countless volunteers who have donated their time or money to help our fellow Illinoisans in this time of need. If approved, these low-interest, long-term loans could be a critical lifeline for storm survivors as they begin to rebuild."
The governor submitted the request for an SBA disaster declaration after officials with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency reviewed the results of a recent damage assessment in Christian County to survey damage and document uninsured losses. To qualify for an SBA declaration, at least 25 homes and/or businesses in a county must sustain major, uninsured losses of 40 percent or more. The recent Christian County survey found 33 homes and one business sustained major damage and had significant uninsured losses.
The hardest hit area was in the city of Taylorville and neighboring Hewittville. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Lincoln reports this tornado was on the ground for more than 12 miles with wind speeds of up to 155 mph, classifying it as an EF-3 tornado. More than $4.1 million in residential and commercial losses are estimated in Christian County.
The State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield was activated for more than two weeks to support the response and recovery efforts in central Illinois. Also, several state agencies participated in a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) and were able to assist 172 households and an estimated 481 residents. Additional services are available to Christian County residents through the Christian County C.E.F.S. office or the American Red Cross.
Original source can be found here.
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