RALEIGH — Business owners impacted by Hurricane Matthew in North Carolina can easily access a growing number of resources designed to mitigate losses and speed recovery from one of the state’s largest natural disasters. A new website featuring state and federal resources provides guidance for businesses as they navigate the many recovery options available to them.
The website address is sbtdc.org/hurricanematthew/
“When a disaster like Hurricane Matthew strikes, business owners must deal with the immediate damage as well as the complicated task of recovery,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla, III. “The new website makes it easy to tap the many sources of assistance.”
State and federal partners offering business recovery resources include the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the University of North Carolina – Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC), the North Carolina Community College System’s Small Business Center Network (SBCN), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The North Carolina Rural Center and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina are also offering information and services.
“North Carolina has hard-won experience with disaster recovery,” said Scott Daugherty who has served as the SBTDC’s State Director since it was founded in 1984. “We’ve applied the lessons from past recovery efforts like Hurricane Floyd to streamline as much as possible the steps a business owner must take to get up and running again.”
Each participating agency oversees particular business recovery services based on expertise or service areas. N.C. Commerce directly manages several resources relevant to business recovery. For example, Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a federal program managed by N.C. Commerce’s Employment Security team that provides temporary payments to people in a federally declared disaster area whose employment or income has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster. N.C. Commerce teams involved with workforce development and rural infrastructure funding are also providing support for disaster recovery in effected areas.
In addition to the list of available recovery programs and services available to North Carolina businesses, the website lists locations of disaster recovery centers where people may seek personal assistance from trained staff members. Businesses that are seeking federal, state or local contracts in disaster recovery such as debris removal or furnishing necessary supplies can also obtain guidance at the website.
For further information on business recovery resources available in North Carolina, visit sbtdc.org/hurricanematthew/