Governor Greg Abbott today announced his request and approval by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for a disaster declaration for communities affected by severe storms and a tornado that occurred on May 13. Included in the disaster declaration are Cameron County and neighboring Hidalgo and Willacy counties. “This disaster declaration will help give Texans the critical financial assistance needed to recover from severe storms earlier this month,” said Governor Abbott. “I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working diligently with our federal partners to issue an SBA disaster declaration for impacted communities. Texans who sustained damages to their homes and businesses from these severe storms will have access to low-interest rate loans so they can continue to rebuild and recover.” At the Governor’s request, the SBA granted access to its Physical Disaster Loan program for homes and businesses, as well as its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Local, state, and federal officials conducted an analysis of damage sustained in impacted communities, which verified that Cameron County met the federally required thresholds for SBA assistance. Officials also reviewed disaster damage information self-reported by Texans through Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) surveys. The Governor requested this SBA declaration on May 24 . On May 16, Governor Abbott issued a disaster declaration for impacted residents in South Texas that suffered damage to homes and businesses. On May 13, the Governor directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate additional state emergency response resources ahead of the increased severe weather and flash flood threat across Texas. SBA loan applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at disasterloanassistance.sba.gov. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance.