Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Oct. 6 that the U.S. Small Business Administration approved a disaster declaration for Fairfield County and the neighboring New Haven and Litchfield counties after the Sept. 13 flash flooding. Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits there can apply for low-interest SBA disaster loans.
According to the governor's office, homeowners can borrow up to $500,000 to repair a primary residence, and homeowners and renters up to $100,000 to repair or replace personal property. Businesses can borrow up to $2 million for real property, inventory, machinery and equipment. Businesses and nonprofits can apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million for working capital until normal operations resume.
The deadline for physical damage loan applications is Dec. 1, 2026, and for economic injury loans it is July 2, 2027. A temporary SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center opens Oct. 7 at the Margaret E. Morton Government Center, 999 Broad Street in Bridgeport. It is open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with shorter hours on Oct. 9, 20 and 21, closed Oct. 12, and expected to close permanently at 4 p.m. on Oct. 21.
These are loans, so they must be repaid. The state's emergency services commissioner said the loans are meant for people with uninsured losses. Check the SBA's own application page for current terms and rates before applying, since the governor's release does not list them.